A Conservative’s Viewpoint
Are Things Really As Rosy
As We’ve Been Told?
Article by Bob Steinburg - Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony
In 1977, my wife and I visited Eastern North Carolina for the first time. We were struck by its beauty and the sincerity of its people. We had just relocated to Richmond, Va., from Upstate New York, where we were born and raised. I was in sales and part of my coverage area included Eastern North Carolina.
The simplicity of the lifestyle was a throwback to another time. The towns reminded us of 1952 when “Ike” occupied the White House. The charm of a bygone-era was irresistible. It beckoned us. We moved to Edenton 28 years later at retirement, fortunate to realize our dream.
Reality was about to set in.
To love Eastern North Carolina, first and foremost, is to love her humble and hard-working people. Eastern North Carolinians represent the essence of America – patriotic and God-fearing, with a love of state, region and community that should be the benchmark for all of America. It’s a way of life worth preserving and protecting – as is its beaches, islands, rivers and waterways that meander through and around our historic southern towns. Eastern North Carolina is the crown jewel of the Tar Heel State; the Albemarle its biggest treasure.
How fortunate I am to be a part of this legacy. How sincerely I hope it will endure. How troubled I am that it will not.
Things have changed in the last 30 years and, unfortunately, not always for the better. With the exception of 1995-99, when the Republicans controlled the state House, Democrats, since 1868 or Reconstruction, have been in charge of state government. North Carolina has had only two Republican governors, elected in 1972 and 1988. The state Senate today is made up of 31 Democrats and 19 Republicans. In the House, there are 66 Democrats and 54 Republicans. Democrats maintain overwhelming majorities in Eastern North Carolina’s 38 counties, with three Republican state senators and 10 Democrats. In the House, there are 23 Democrat lawmakers and eight Republicans.
Democrats have clearly been calling the shots. Have they been successful? Let’s take a look.
• 500,000 illegal immigrants and growing every day. North Carolina has some of the weakest state immigration laws in the country. Georgia has enacted and Virginia is proposing strict illegal immigration laws that will force illegals to flee to avoid detention, incarceration or deportation. North Carolina is their likely destination.
• In excess of 100,000 manufacturing jobs lost since 1990
• 14th highest taxed state in the nation, with the 7th highest gas tax and the 19th highest corporate tax rate
• Drop-out rate for students 32 percent, showing no improvement in more than 20 years
• No legislation to protect property rights.
• Deteriorating roads and highways, despite a $1.2 billion surplus in the general budget. We are told there is no money available for road construction, yet the state will spend in excess of $1 billion for the new Herbert Bonner Bridge connecting Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Island. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives North Carolina a “D” on roads and a “C” on bridges. Poor grades for the “Good Roads State.”
Add to that years of uncontrolled spending, increased taxes, corruption and scandal, and you can see why we should be concerned about North Carolina’s future.
North Carolinians deserve better. Whether Republican or Democrat, leaders need to be committed to our values, fiscally responsible, and ultimately accountable.
Many of our Democratic legislators recently returned from Raleigh, again hailing their successes. They have had an opportunity to shape and mold policy and budget for decades. They have failed.
It is really interesting to see how the press reacts to the actions of socialist regimes like the current Democrat dominated North Carolina government (with both legislature and executive branches controlled by socialists) versus the reaction to the free enterprise oriented government of the Republicans at the federal level until 2006.
The primary theme of articles on the period from 2002 until 2006 was how bad things were economically. Even though it was a period of sustained growth, it was always reported as just about to collapse and everyone who was not prospering was failing to prosper because of the economic policies of the Republicans.
Growth continues (for now), but according to the press and the democrats, it is because of Democrat spending. Look at the articles after last year's elections and amazingly without even taking office the economy recovered immediately (so far as the press was concerned). Now after fiscally irresponsible and wasteful spending by the Democrats (socialists) there are no articles talking about the coming inflation. No articles blame the Democrat spending for the rising interest rates that have devastated the home market. Nothing bad is the fault of the Democrats and everything good is THEIR success!
After 40 years of failure in our education system, it appears a very large part of our population believes these lies.
Bob is right to criticize how easily the press is fooled by Democrat claims on the value of their socialist agenda. On this issue, it appears libertarians and conservatives agree.
A Conservative’s Viewpoint
When It Comes To Terrorism
We’re All Racial Profilers
Article by Bob Steinburg - Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony
Racial Profiling: because of its roots, the very words offend many of us. It somehow seems un-American that police or security personnel target a potential suspect because of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion.
One of the most familiar forms of racial profiling in this country has been referred to as “DWB” or “Driving While Black.” Police reportedly stopped some motorists under the premise that they committed a traffic crime-often an excuse to exercise a search based on a false assumption that blacks were more likely to be transporting illegal drugs. It was also an intimidation tactic to instill fear. In 1999, Gov. Jim Hunt signed the nation’s first law to track racial profiling of minorities targeted by law enforcement officers.
The reality is that the United States is becoming more ethnically diverse. This month the U.S. Census bureau reported that 14 North Carolina counties now are “majority-minority,” with non-Hispanic whites outnumbered by African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities. Included are Robeson, Hertford, Bertie, Warren, Edgecomb, Northampton, Halifax, Hoke, Vance, Durham, Washington, Anson, Greene and Scotland counties.
Racial profiling is abhorrent to our psyches. But as a result of global terrorism, there are instances where it is necessary for our survival.
After 9-11, the U.S. – aided by the passage of the Patriot Act-is directing its attention primarily toward a certain profile, giving us increased access to foreign intelligence surveillance, including wiretaps and the interception of electronic communications. This has raised the ire of many, including the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU is convinced constitutional rights are being trampled. Whose rights? Certainly not mine, nor I suspect yours.
It’s easy to say you are against racial profiling when you are sitting comfortably at home in your easy chair watching the evening news or reading your newspaper. Put yourself potentially in harms way and see if that view changes.
My wife and I returned from vacation recently and traveled through different airports. What I observed will not shock you and, in fact, should seem normal given the times we live in. Almost everyone preparing to board flights anxiously peered at fellow passengers and if spotting one that appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, remained focused on them throughout the flight. On one flight, when an apparent Middle Eastern gentleman kept getting up to use the rest room, first at the front of the plane and then at the back, you could sense the anxiety spiraling. Even the flight attendants seemed overly- anxious.
While likely no different than you or me except for skin color or facial features, we were still apprehensive. It’s unfortunate. These travelers might have been Americans no less patriotic than the rest of us. But after the deaths of 2,974 in 9/11, it’s human nature.
The good news is that airport security was excellent. On our vacation, everyone was checked thoroughly before being allowed into the boarding area. In opening our bags after arriving at our destination, and then upon our return home, we found greetings from the Transportation Security Administration notifying us our bags were inspected.
President Bush has declared war on terrorism. The goal: track down Osama Bin Laden. Bring al-Qaeda to justice. Eliminate terrorism. We have not had a terrorist attack since 9/11. The folks on the front lines are doing a good job with the tools we have given them to protect us. More may be needed. While we may be inconvenienced, most of our lives have not changed all that much.
To continue to insure we remain safe we must continue scanning our environment for potential threats. If that is racial profiling, than so be it.
The problem that Bob is talking about here is that a large element of America is hostile to America, and to protect ourselves from them we are limiting our own freedoms. Many hostile groups want to change everything that makes us a great nation, like life, liberty and "free enterprise" (though that was not listed as a right). The ACLU and various liberal dominated groups like the Democrat Party believe the issue of those things they believe are "Constitutional Rights" are more important than real rights, like liberty and freedom. They also believe that since they hate America, that any group that hates America should benefit from "rights" under the Constitution too. As an example, the ACLU argued that people on a list of foreign terrorists should benefit from the general prohibition against intercepting phone calls because they were protected by the Constitution.
The people who want to destroy our nation have rights? Only to liberals who are only too happy to align themselves with anyone who hates us.
Inner Banks Laughter - Political Humor
Humor by Jeff Whelan
A Conservative’s Viewpoint
China - A Force To Be Reckoned With
Article by Bob Steinburg - Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony
The United States and China are in a race for economic dominance. We look in our rear-- view mirror to see them on our bumper waiting to overtake the economic pole position we have long occupied. Competition is good and brings out American ingenuity and resolve.
In the 1980’s it was Japan riding our bumper and most thought they would overtake us to become the worlds leading economy. We were struggling with the Cold War which drained the emotional and financial resources of America. Paul Kennedy in his book “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers” said we were suffering from “imperial overstretch” and predicted we would decline as a nation. The Soviet Union crashed and burned and today Japan is no threat-but China is.
In 1972 Richard Nixon, the first president to visit China, proposed a loosening of trade and visa restrictions, and encouraged a cultural and scientific exchange. A country whose population represents one fifth of the human race and the potential to develop into the world’s largest market could not be ignored. The president believed China could become a huge player in the international movement of goods and capital. He was right. Nixon’s vision would prove to be the greatest legacy of his ultimately disgraced presidency.
China’s population of 1.3 billion is a Leninist regime engaged in a semi -- capitalist society.
The Chinese people are awakening from their centuries -- old slumber, with a hunger for goods, services and freedoms. Their leaders want the best of both worlds -- control the hearts and minds of the Chinese people, and the economic benefits realized through China’s participation in the World Trade Organization. Walking this tightrope could lead to the end of communism here.
China’s leadership has no desire to relinquish power and is confronting a dilemma-- risking continuing their foray into capitalism, or retreating from the economic stage with the possible consequences of a North Korean -- like existence? A difficult choice for China’s leaders perhaps -- but not her people.
Pandora’s Box is open and the world is staring into the eyes of an 800 -- pound economic gorilla.
Our trade-gap with China is $232 billion. To help counter this, the U. S. wants China’s currency to rise- but keeping exports cheap is what gives China the ability to flood markets with quality goods at inexpensive prices.
China fears that raising its currency threatens the existence of hundreds of thousands of textile workers and their employers who are already operating on razor thin margins.
North Carolinians know a thing or two about razor thin margins. In the manufacturing sector alone we’ve lost 100,000 plus jobs in textiles, apparel, and furniture since 1990. Plants closed, and jobs moved off-shore. Many firms couldn’t compete with products made in China and elsewhere. Manufacturing is the economic backbone of our rural counties, and each loss has devastating consequences.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recognizes we have a problem, yet has discouraged Congress from slapping China with trade sanctions, as one possible solution. Many economists and free traders don’t like this idea, but the threat of imposing sanctions may prove a strong tool in getting China to an economic summit.
The U. S. must keep the pressure on. China cannot continue to ignore our trade deficit and must come to the realization that our deficit is unsustainable. The most logical place to start is for China to open up more markets to U. S. products, reducing our trade deficit, and putting teeth back into “balance of trade”.
The U. S. imports more than 30 percent of China’s exports. China has considerable holdings of our dollars and Treasury Bonds. Both nations have more than a little reason to get this right.
While we may not be able to keep China in the rear -- view mirror forever, we need to secure a more equitable trading agreement with our “friends” in the orient, before it is too late.
Made in China. Whoever thought it would be this complicated?
An important issue on which Bob and I disagree is the concept that we are in a contest to be the world's super power. I don't agree at all that such a goal is what we seek. I also don't think we need fear long term any nation that is controlled the way the China economy is controlled. Henry Paulson (mentioned in Bob's article above) is simply an economist who recognizes that slapping trade sanctions on China is a way to "control" our own economy and will hurt us more than the Chinese are hurting us now. China is in an early part of the free enterprise cycle that means internal competition provides them with a temporary advantage that their socialist nature will not sustain.
I wish that more conservatives would recognized . . . we should be in a race to be the world's most free nation. Economic success is the result. Our victory in the last contest against the Soviet Union should have provided lessons for this new so-called contest against China. Our strength and the source of our victory was our resistance to the socialist control that ultimately assured the demise of the Soviet Union. Too many people do not understand the key component of our economic strength is freedom.
I personally wish more conservatives would recognize the practical difference between "capitalism" and "free enterprise". I repeat, freedom is our strength. Freedom only occurs in a system where competition remains and that is not true of pure capitalism. Pure capitalism leads to monopoly by the winner.
Big business (which is what most people mean when they say capitalism) loves monopolies. Capitalism allows for monopolies to exist if they are created "naturally" by the competition included in "free enterprise". However monopolies end "free enterprise" because the people, the customers, lose their freedom to choose as monopolies occur. Any system of "free enterprise" must assure that even naturally created monopolies are not allowed to remain as they kill the competition which provides freedom of choice. Their are many ways big business pretends it is "fair" to retain the lack of competition a monopoly creates. Patents and copyrights are one way. Patents and copyright protection are fair when they encourage the genius of a people. They become a burden when they are sustained too long or they are not enforced to protect genius but to protect big business. China's short term violation of our patents and copyrights (a component of their current success) is not going to be sustained as their own people start to invent things they will want to protect. Social benefits from high taxation and government "control" of business , things socialists love, are another favorite defense of big business and another issue that will hurt China longer term. Both failure of a fair intelectual property system (patents and copyrights) and government control are ultimately destructive of freedom and the concept of "free enterprise". China suffers from both and that will assure our victory if America simply focuses on freedom.
Our focus should not be on managing the balance of trade between our two nations. That has been tried before and the mercantilism concept (managed trade) has never worked any better than socialism has worked.
As China gains more internal competition their socialist oriented government will not be able to resist the control of business that socialist governments always want. Right now they are starting at such a low level of economic success that growth is easy and internal competition is rampant. However as their business grow and start to compete with each other, the easy advantage they currently have will disappear. The government's natural desire to tax profits and determine who wins will create the burden that always destroys socialism. Their growth will slow and the nation which provides the most freedom will prevail. As with the Soviet Union that will happen long before they overtake us.
I pray that we focus on avoiding all the economic failures of the past. Mercantilism (another name for this is managed trade which Bob is proposing) is as evil as socialism. Both are threats America needs to avoid.
Inner Banks Laughter - Political Humor
Humor by Jeff Whelan
Easley Supports New County Taxes
There is an article posted on the Inner Banks Eagle about the attempt by North Carolina to raise your County taxes. It is politics so we posted the article in on the "Eagle". However some have asked me to make people who read the Patriot blogs aware of the article since it will affect so many middle class people who don't know they may have the value of their homes seized by government. Click on the title above to see what is being proposed.
A Conservative’s Viewpoint
Corruption: A Road to Recovery ?
Article by Bob Steinburg - Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony
Revelations of corruption in politics here in North Carolina is endemic to a system that is broken and needs fixing, not just here but across this great country. Simply put, it is all about power; acquiring it and keeping it. A political consultant told me recently that each member of the state legislature is worth at least $1,000,000 to their respective party leader’s agendas, and I am confident that is a conservative estimate. Politics is as “high stakes” as it gets, meaning the door is wide open for influence peddling and corruption at every level of government. The losers? The taxpayers of course.
Political corruption is the misuse by government officials of their governmental powers for illegitimate private gain. It comes in all shapes and sizes; bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement. Corruption is not partisan. Republicans and Democrats are quite capable of succumbing to the temptation of ill gotten financial betterment. Former Democrat House Speaker Jim Black will be spending time in prison for his misdeed; while in addition, officials are still trying to sort out the potential ramifications of his accepting a $500,000 “questionable” contribution from a lobbyist that went into a campaign account, some of which was distributed to fellow Democrat legislators throughout the state. Hopefully these legislators took the money unwittingly, and nothing discovered to date proves otherwise, and will divest themselves by donating all funds received to charity, and then publicly reporting it, through news outlets or a letter to their constituents. A complete list of all of the legislator’s receiving money from Speaker Black is available at http://www.americansforprosperity.org/ .
Today it is estimated to cost between $ 75,000 and $150,000 to run for, or keep a seat in the North Carolina Senate, depending on the district. The House, $50,000 to $100,000. Congress, millions! Is it any wonder money is flowing downstream to help underwrite these costs? Campaign expenditures have exploded over the years. Even the best intentioned legislators can find themselves getting caught up in this never ending search for money to stay in power. When the money needed appears from somewhere outside their district, it is reasonable to assume there is going to be a “payback” in some form or fashion, and that payback could be in the form of their votes. That legislator, whether federal or state, is now, at the very least, compromised to some degree, and that spells trouble for you and me.
Lobbyists, who are not very difficult to find in Washington or Raleigh any time government is in session, pay particular attention to those members with seniority that can get it done. Freshman legislators may upon their arrival think all this talk about influence peddling they have heard about from constituents back home is bunk. No one is approaching them. Get reelected and then appointed to a couple of powerful committees and “Katy, bar the door”! Now there is an excellent argument for term limits, something I whole heartedly endorse.
Dirty money, no matter where it originates, is bad for all of us. Speaker Blacks arrest and punishment is a step in the right direction. Legislators of all stripes, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, need to be accountable to their constituents, themselves and each other, on each and every vote they make, and why they made it. Who is driving this proposed legislation and why? Where did the campaign money from the bills sponsors come from? Could that donor be someone who may have impacted this legislation or was it a lobbyist who has funneled money to the legislator for his sponsorship, vote, or appointment? Compromise is fine. Sometimes you have to give a little to get a little. Corruption is NEVER compromise!
There are watchdog groups that monitor the action and votes of those who govern us. We too need to be personally responsible in monitoring our representatives and not just “assume” they are “always” looking out for our best interest. When they realize our eyes and ears are open, and that they will be held accountable for their actions and their votes, the likelihood of another “Jim Black” in government leadership will be greatly diminished. Only then will “we the people” begin to realize the true benefits of good, open, transparent and honest government; the kind of government we voted for, and expected we would get, when we cast our votes on Election Day.
Do we really care about honesty in our elected officials and what our legislators do with our tax money? Only time will tell. As for me, you can put it in the bank!
Term limits? Sheesh Bob. Get a grip. Republicans have lost power every place term limits have been enacted. Republicans are the party of free enterprise, not the party of government. Their most talented people do not want to make a career of government. Democrats are the party of government and have numerous talented people (or at least they are talented campaigners) who want to run for office. It takes years for Republicans to find and elect good people who are reticent to run for office. Term limits throws out the people of both parties and immediately the Democrats have numerous people seeking the open positions. Republicans have to spend years finding people and asking them to give up their careers and do something that is not their first choice. In the immediate aftermath of term limits there is always a disaster for conservatives.
What happens? Liberal democrats take over.
Forget the term limits idiocy.
Let's simply work to put the criminals in jail, no matter what party they are from. Let's work to make sure that the lobbyists who give out money are exposed. Open and transparent government is the solution to both graft and pork. Even Republicans are guilty of getting sucked in when the process is not open. How else do you think that Jack Abramoff was able to do so much damage. The money being given by lobbyists was not known by the public. If it had been open, Hastert would not have been able to get so many Republicans at the federal level to go along with increasing the pork at such an incredible scale.
Here in North Carolina the overwhelming corruption is in the Democrat Party. They run the state, all three branches. They control the legislature by a proven bribe that allowed for gerrymandered districts. Yet we still have people on the street complaining about our government and saying the budget problems are the fault of Republicans. Thursday I heard a local pastor complaining about the need to elect Democrats to state government to fix the problems the Republicans had caused. That is at least part of the problem. So many people who don't have a clue about what is going on.
However I cannot understand how any conservative who has been paying attention can honestly think that term limits is any part of the solution. That is simply insane. That merely leads to a revolving door government that is even worse . . . and even more liberal.
Inner Banks Laughter - Political Humor
Humor by Jeff Whelan
Shrimp by the Bay
August 16th, 2007 Dinner from 5:30 - 7:00 PM Music from 6 - 9 PMAt the Chowan Golf and Country Club. Live music with the Phun Doctors and great food for all to enjoy! Fee: $25 in advance - $30 at the gate.Contact Brenda Spruill at (252) 482-3400 - or email her at brenda.spruill@ncmail.net
Inner Banks Laughter - Political Humor
The Democrats of the North Carolina Legislature.
A Conservative’s Viewpoint ,
North Carolina’s New Budget;
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Article by Bob Steinburg - August 3rd, 2007
Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony
The North Carolina General Assembly have concluded their session for 2007, and with it passed a new 20 billion dollar state budget. This lengthy 111 day legislative marathon will perhaps best be remembered for what it didn’t accomplish, than what it did.
The Good:
The Medicaid Relief bill passed, which will now have the state picking up the counties current five percent share of Medicaid bills. This gives our rural counties, in particular, welcomed help, as they continue to struggle under the tremendous budgeting burden of that ever expanding entitlement program.
In addition the new budget will give North Carolina’s 93,215 state employees’s an increase in salary. Most will receive a 4 percent raise, with judges, community college instructors and teacher’s wages being bumped up by 5 percent. Those who have retired from state service will see a 2.2 percent cost of living increase added to their monthly pension checks.
A cap was put on the gas tax, certainly welcome relief for all of us. North Carolina however, still maintains the dubious distinction of having one of the largest taxes on gasoline in the country.
Another piece of legislation was enacted that will prohibit officials who have been convicted of a felony, like former Democrat Speaker Jim Black, from collecting their state pensions.
There were other positive legislative accomplishments to be sure, but these are certainly the most notable in this recent lackluster legislative session.
The Bad:
Spend, spend, and spend! Even with a 1.5 billion dollar surplus remaining in our state treasury, the House, Senate and ultimately the Governor, by his signature of approval, found new ways to increase the tax burden on the citizens they are charged with representing.
Democrats currently control all of the legs of this three legged stool and must assume the bulk of the responsibility for the 9.5 percent increase in spending in our new state budget.
This in spite of an inflation rate in the U.S this year of 2.175 percent through June. Last years budget spending increased almost 10 percent while the inflation rate was only 3.5 percent. Clearly North Carolina cannot maintain this spending spree without driving the bulk of its citizens straight to the poor house in their horse and buggies.
Nothing was done to strengthen laws protecting children against sexual predators as Jessica’s Law, which passed the state house unanimously, only to end up sitting in the Senate Judiciary Committee, never came to a vote on the senate floor. Thirty one states have passed this legislation, with Colorado, Illinois, Mississippi and Utah on the threshold of approval. Why has our state senate not voted on this?
Illegal immigration, a very important issue to this country and state; no legislation enacted! North Carolina is one of seven states to have significant illegal immigrants; in excess of 300,000, with more on the way. Georgia recently enacted stiff immigration laws that are forcing their illegal immigrants to vacate Georgia and head north. Where do you think they are heading? You guessed it. North Carolina, a state with some of the weakest immigration laws in the country. Is it any wonder the numbers of illegal immigrants living within our state’s borders continues to swell?
Property rights: Nothing enacted to protect private property from being condemned for economic development.
Education: North Carolina continues to throw mega bucks at our public schools and the results? After 20 years and too much money to count, we have done little to improve the 32 percent drop-out rate by students in our state. Money is clearly not the only answer to this problem. Republicans and some Democrats have presented the legislature with many options, including Charter Schools and other alternative remedies, in an effort to turn the tide on this alarming and continuing trend of mediocrity at best, and failure at worst. Unfortunately those controlling the purse strings in Raleigh, still naively believe that spending more money is the solution. Well folks, we’ve had 20 years of this single minded approach to repairing our public schools and it just hasn’t worked. Why should reasonable thinking taxpayers believe this year’s budget and the same old failed formula of more money will be any different? Clearly, it is well past time for a change in strategy.
Transportation: Our roadways and bridges continue to deteriorate, but there is no sense of urgency in Raleigh to do anything about it. Instead 172 million dollars was transferred from the highway trust fund into the general revenue fund to be used for, who knows what? We can only hope that the horrific and fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis will stir the legislature to action, before it is too late!
North Carolina is one of the fastest growing states in the country. To accommodate this growth we must secure and expand our infrastructure to meet the growing demands that are and will continue to be placed upon our infrastructure this 21st century.
The Ugly:
This is one area where there is a clear and perfect fit. In spite of one of the biggest scandals in state legislative history, and a looming sense there is more to come, the legislature has done nothing to resolve the ethical issues that swirl around it, like "the perfect storm". Its business as usual in Raleigh, with the continued soliciting of lobbyists for campaign contributions, pet non-profits, and appropriations to non-profits controlled by legislators. In fact, one of the most important things this legislature should have acted upon was to impose term limits on all positions of legislative leadership, which in and of itself, would have gone a long way in showing the folks back home, our representatives are serious about cleaning up their mess in Raleigh.
There will be time in the first session next year to implement self imposed rules to help keep everyone honest and to tackle legislative opportunities missed in this most recent session. We have a role to play in all of this as well. We must continue to oversee and monitor as well as remind our state representatives that we demand, not just expect, open, honest and transparent representation in Raleigh and nothing less.
In the end it really is up to us, "we the people". If we don’t do our part, than perhaps P.T Barnum was right. "There’s a sucker born every minute, and they often get what they deserve!"
Special attention needs to be brought to three of the issues here.
First, education. After two generations of increasing independence for the teacher's unions (some would even say arrogance) our children fall further and further behind. A special problem exists in areas with large black populations due to the socialism of the black representatives in our governments at all levels. This has worsened the culture of victim-hood and the excuses. The percentage of black male children who drop out is nearly half here in North Carolina. What chance is there to reach the American dream when the first step on the ladder to success is taken away before our black sons even get started? The only solution for these socialism oriented legislators is to throw money at the problem. It has not worked in over 40 years. Our children continue to fall further and further behind. And the democrats become more and more beholden to the union bosses of the teacher's unions. When is this cycle going to be broken?
Second, illegal immigration. America is at war with Islamofascists and with Mexico. Both wars are frightening because of the implications for massive cultural change in our state and nation. We are a Christian nation and continued blackmail by liberals to provide special programs to promote Islam is part of the socialist war on America. Like the special San Diego program demanding that all children at their schools, including Christians, must participate in a 15 minute prayer session for Muslims. This is considered cultural. While at the same time Christians are forbidden from praying unless they do it on their own time, AND SILENTLY, so they don't offend the Muslims. North Carolina is a huge magnet for illegal immigrants, but the socialists of the Democrat Party stop any meaningful reform, just as they did with aggressive intervention in this year's legislative session. How can our courts tolerate such arrogant indifference to equal protection?
Third, transportation. For nearly two generations there has been a war by socialists of the Democrat Party against the automobile. Unlike public transportation that essentially enslaves the population to the power of the public officials who control it, the freedom granted by the automobile is resented by the socialists. They have long had a campaign to take all taxes on transportation and stop using it to benefit those who are taxed. Instead they take the tax dollars and put them in the general fund so they can be used to fund health care for illegals, free rent for the poor, and increased salaries for government bureaucrats. No roads are to be built. Cars are treated as luxuries and suppressed. The bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis is just one example of the potential consequences as our road infrastructure falls apart. Democrats in North Carolina once again this year raided the road trust fund to pay off special interests and not to build roads. How can the middle class in North Carolina tolerate such a damaging raid on their road trust fund?
It must be remembered that the total Democrat control of North Carolina is an insult to the concept of democracy. It was not voted in by the people. The people have voted for Republicans by an overwhelming majority in recent elections. However those votes do not translate into Republicans in office because of the bribery of Jim Black and the gerrymandered districts it allowed.
This huge budget, wasting tax dollars and paying off special interests, is the result of corruption on a scale never seen, not even in the days of Hughie Long. North Carolina's Democrat Party is the most corrupt political power in the history of our nation. No one else ever bought an entire state against the people's desires.
Hughie Long at least won the vote fairly.
Inner Banks Laughter - Married Humor
Two men were talking about their wives and what annoyed them. After a pause one man said "I would like to see a woman dentist."
"Huh, Why?" asked his friend.
"Because it would be a pleasure to have a woman say, 'open your mouth' instead of 'shut up.'"
