I guess it depends on how you define “waste,” Senator

This line in the radio ad for Senator Fred Smith, Republican in District 12, is really annoying me. Smith says:

Government that wastes a dollar is a dollar that can’t go to educate a child, or provide for healthcare, or make us competitive in the global economy.

I’m sorry, but especially with respect to the latter two, that’s like saying

Government that wastes a dollar is a dollar that can’t be flushed down a toilet or fed to the pigeons.

If Cheek wins will Easley appoint Nifong again?

OK. What if Lewis Cheek wins on Tuesday? He says there’s no way he’ll serve as district attorney even if he does get more votes than current DA Mike Nifong. That would leave the issue in the hands of Gov. Mike Easley, who would have to name a district attorney to serve in Cheek’s place. My question: What’s to prevent Easley from naming Nifong again? After all, he appointed him in the first place. Here’s Cheek’s take, given at a press conference yesterday:

“Can you think of any reason why Gov. [Mike] Easley would not look high and low to find the best person? What do you think Gov. Easley wants his legacy to be?”

I’m not as confident. If Easley had looked high and low for the best person we wouldn’t have Nifong in the first place.

Anonymous undisclosed unauthenticated sources

The Herald-Sun reported this morning that “another person has surfaced to refute a club owner’s claim that the accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape case stopped doing exotic dances at his Hillsborough nightspot in February.” This breathless assertion, however, is based on “lawyers close to the case” who “did not reveal the other dancer’s name or make her available for an interview Thursday.” That doesn’t sound to me like anyone has “surfaced” at all. It sounds like some anonymous lawyer (and how do we know that?) “close to the case” (how close?) told reporter John Stevenson something, which the anonymous source refused to authenticate by producing an actual person. But, hey, that’s journalism these days.

One thing I noticed, however. After getting beaten up yesterday by blogger KC Johnson for not pointing out that the rape accuser’s driver himself is on record saying the accuser danced at the club after the alleged rape in March, Stevenson included that little fact in today’s story. See, bloggers are making a difference.

We’re number one!

Durham tops arrests in sting operation:

Durham was home to the lion’s share of arrests in the Middle District of North Carolina during last week’s Operation Falcon III, a seven-day sting led by the U.S. Marshals Service in conjunction with local law enforcement.

I didn’t see that one coming.