More Trouble For Former Durham DA Tracey Cline?

Earlier this year a judge ordered then-Durham DA Tracey Cline from office in the wake of false allegations against Judge Orlando Hudson. The whole mess cast more doubt on the criminal justice system in Durham, particularly since the memory of Mike Nifong still lingers. Now Tracey Cline is under scrutiny by the N.C. State Bar. According to this News & Observer story, she could lose her license to practice law.

July 6 in Raleigh: Sen. Marco Rubio

He’s one of the new generation of conservative leaders. On July 6, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will visit Raleigh to sign copies of his book.

Why Wasn’t This Guy Fired?

The Federal Times reports that Jeff Neely, the guy who directed the gross misuse of hard-earned tax dollars at the GSA, retired this week. Retired? In the private sector, he would have been escorted out the door as soon as the fiasco came to light.

The report found Neely wasted tens of thousands of dollars in government funds on unnecessary trips, parties, activities and swag. GSA Inspector General Brian Miller said Neely fostered a culture of “putting people down” who objected to his spending decisions.

“One employee told me he ‘squashed someone like a bug,’ ” Miller told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in April. “Spending was part of the culture of Region 9.”

In addition, Miller’s office found thousands of dollars of equipment — iPods, gift cards and other items bought by Neely’s Region 9 office for an employee awards program — went missing or was stolen. Miller said his office tracked one of the missing iPods to Neely’s daughter.

That committee’s chairman — Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. — one month ago called for Neely to be removed from the federal payroll.

“It’s quite ridiculous for the government to be concentrating on that.”

That quote comes from a smoker in New Zealand, where the tobacco tax has been hiked again, and where retailers must now hide cigarettes under the counter. It’s all part of the country’s effort to force smokers to stop. Well, actually, not quite stop, because that would mean giving up the tax revenue. Here’s reaction from smokers:

Chris Hobman said the cost is “horrendous” and could drive some low-income people to commit crimes to support their habit. He said the government needs to provide more support and alternatives to smokers if it’s serious about making them quit.

Wellington resident Hayley Mauriohooho, who has smoked for about 20 years, said that although it would be good if more people quit, higher taxes won’t stop her.

“It’s quite ridiculous for the government to be concentrating on that,” she said. “They have bigger things to worry about.”

Tea Party Activists Have a Plan To Greet DNC’ers

Roll Call reports on how North Carolina tea party activists are planning to greet guests at the Charlotte Democratic National Convention.

“When the DNC arrives, we will have an impact,” Yadkin Valley Tea Party activist Mark Hager pledges.

The billboards feature an American flag and a vicious-looking bald eagle dramatically screaming: “Reclaim America. Vote: Enough!”

Parents Of College Students Should Be Very Concerned

From Duke Cheston at the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy comes a discussion of a new federal policy that seriously weakens protections for college students accused of sexual assault. This is ominous for those falsely accused.

In April 2011, the Obama administration’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to colleges, universities, and schools across the country to explain newly created federal rules on dealing with sexual violence. A major change was to lower the burden of proof for colleges to punish students for sexual assault, which ranges from attempted forced kissing up to and including rape.

These new rules were touted as a way of promoting “enhanced equity.” But, in reality, the new rules rather inequitably reduce the protections of those who are accused (mostly males).

The new rules ostensibly come from a reinterpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law that prohibits colleges that receive federal funds from discriminating based on gender—best known for requiring women’s sports to be treated equally to men’s. Arguing that sexual assault is a form of gender discrimination, the office decreed a handful of new regulations.

The most aggressive new interpretation was a mandate that colleges and universities lower the burden of proof when deciding cases of assault. The bar was dropped to the lowest possible standard, a “preponderance of evidence.” In other words, a college disciplinary committee merely needs to decide that an accused individual is more likely to have committed a crime than not.  Those deciding the case must be only 50.1 percent sure of guilt. That standard is lower than the one used in criminal cases, which is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” and generally thought of in numeric terms as 98 percent sure.  

Now The Nanny-Staters Want To Regulate Pre-Paid Debit Cards

Legitimate regulation ensures the citizenry is shielded from serious effects of situations or activities from which we as individuals cannot reasonably be expected to protect ourselves — polluted water, unlicensed surgeons, and fraudulent investment schemes for example. Unfortunately, regulations have expanded well beyond the limited scope of those that are appropriate and now extend to “protecting” people from their own poor, unwise, even irresponsible decisions. The latest case in point: the massive new  regulatory agency is zeroing in on pre-paid debit cards. Evidently they’re bad, bad, bad — even though they provide consumers a choice to buy, or not to buy, the service. Just look at what one consumer had to say.

Eric Jefferson, a Durham resident who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting, said he was planning to try to set up direct deposit of his paycheck to a prepaid card since he said it included offer perks such as free activation. 

But then he said he was made aware of fees including a $9.95 monthly fee, among others. The card had appealed to him at the time, he said, because he said he had a negative balance in his regular bank account.

“I feel like I should have researched more,” he said.

Bingo. He may now believe he made a poor decision, but whose responsibility is that? The feds’ regulations czar wants financial decision-making to be the bank’s responsibility, not the consumer’s. And that’s just poor policy.

5PM: Evidently He’s Very Confident. John Edwards At ACC Baseball Tourney Right Now In Greensboro

Ingenuity and Entrepreneurship In Space

When the private SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched this week, there were some space-lovers aboard. In a wonderful example of the entrepreneurial spirit, the rocket’s operator offered a burial service as part of the flight.

James Doohan, Scotty from “Star Trek,” spent his acting career whizzing through the cosmos. Gordon Cooper was one of America’s famous Mercury seven astronauts. And Bob Shrake spent his work life anonymously helping send NASA’s high-tech spacecraft to other planets.

Now the three men who made space their lives are also making space their final resting place. Their ashes — and those of about 300 others — were aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket that blasted into orbit Tuesday as part of an in-space for-profit burial business.

Is NASCAR Kidding?

From USA Today comes the latest example of how out of touch NASCAR is with its fans these days. Racing is about speed, fun, strategy, rivalry, and sheer guts — not this.

President Obama’s eco-friendly EPA inked a green partnership deal with high-octane NASCAR Monday to promote recycling and environmentally-friendly products to the sport’s millions of fans.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, NASCAR will encourage fans to buy “sustainable concessions” at races, expand the use of “safer chemical products,” conserve water, reduce waste, promote recycling, push products approved by the EPA that have a small enviro footprint and encourage suppliers to get an “E3 tuneup” aimed at promoting sustainable manufacturing.