Surprise, surprise! NC blacks in favor of voter ID

That same poll mentioned in the previous post had some other astounding news. Well, astounding to Democrats, newspaper editorialists, race hucksters, and the NAACP:

One more interesting note from the poll: voter-ID laws are remarkably popular, at 80/15. Two-thirds of black voters support ID checks at the ballot box in North Carolina, a very surprising result given the usual claims that such laws are discriminatory. Only 26% of likely voters believe that to be true, according to this poll, although black voters split almost equally on that question, 46/44.

Funny, but I haven’t seen that headline in any North Carolina newspaper.

Obama’s dead-cat bounce in NC

North Carolina’s status as a swing state is in peril. Polling done after President Obama’s “evolving” announcement on gay marriage show that, if anything, the state is swinging toward Mitt Romney:

Mitt Romney has moved out to an eight-point lead over President Obama in North Carolina after the two men were virtually tied a month ago.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Tar Heel State shows the putative Republican nominee earning 51% of the vote to Obama’s 43%. Two percent (2%) like some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided.

Bet the Democrats are glad they picked Charlotte.

A perfect illustration of the lapdog press

Terry Stoops, director of education studies at the John Locke Foundation, sends out a periodic newsletter that is required reading for anyone interested in K-12 education issues in North Carolina. His latest includes a “CommenTerry” on the wisdom of using temporary funds for permanent jobs:

In August 2010, Congress approved the Education Jobs Fund. The so-called EduJobs bill provided $10 billion to states “to save or create education jobs for school year (SY) 2010-2011.” While many states expended their entire appropriation last year, a pre-existing law (Tydings Amendment) permitted school districts to carry over funds to the 2011-2012 school year. North Carolina school districts did just that. They set aside a substantial portion of state’s $300 million grant to fund teacher salary and benefits for the current school year.

How did we get to this point? In other words, who had the bright idea to give states temporary funds for permanent teaching positions? Leave it to the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to explain the logic…or ignore the issue altogether.

He then provides a portion of the transcript of a conference call between members of the media and Arne Duncan, President Obama’s education secretary:

Donna Blankenship: Yes. This is Donna from the Associated Press. I have a question about the next school year after this one. What are we planning to do in 2011-12 if schools still need money for teachers’ salaries?

Arne Duncan: Well, we’re focused right now Donna on this school year.

Donna Blankenship: Right.

Arne Duncan: And, we really wanted to avoid a huge catastrophe this year. As you know, the economy is slowly starting to bounce back, and we’re hopeful we’ll be in a much better spot next year. But right now as you know Donna, we just felt this huge sense of urgency. …

Donna Blankenship: Thank you.

This is not exactly aggressive journalism. As Terry points out:

Yes, it was disappointing, albeit not surprising, to see a member of the mainstream media capitulate to Duncan (twice!). Even so, Blankenship’s question was a legitimate one. Duncan’s answer was not.

He concludes:

Obviously, Democrats were in charge of the NC General Assembly (and Harrison was chair of the State Board of Education) when the state accepted huge sums of temporary federal dollars for public schools. Apparently, they also accepted Duncan’s disingenuous promise that they would not have to worry about “next year” because the economy was about to “bounce back.” Suckers!

You can go here to sign up to receive Terry’s always enlightening newsletters.

GSA Financial Scandal Not Over

The U.S. Senate is involved in investigating the GSA spending scandal.

Leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Thursday asked the General Services Administration to provide details about its financial management and internal controls aimed at preventing waste, fraud and abuse, in the wake of a scathing inspector general report about GSA’s 2010 Western Regions Conference (WRC) held near Las Vegas.

Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose committee is tasked with overseeing agency efficiency and effectiveness, requested the information in a nine-page letter, released to the public Monday and filled with questions about conference spending, travel, awards and contracting. They addressed the letter to Acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini.

Rasmussen Poll Of NC Likely Voters: Romney 51%, Obama 43%

Is North Carolina still a battleground state? Maybe not. From Rasmussen:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Tar Heel State shows the putative Republican nominee earning 51% of the vote to Obama’s 43%. Two percent (2%) like some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

That’s a big change from last month when Romney posted a narrow 46% to 44% lead over the president in Rasmussen Reports’ first survey of the race in North Carolina.  

Policies have consequences.

Bloomberg Headline: Obama Carolina Convention Plans Going Awry for Democrats

From Bloomberg:

President Barack Obama’s decision in February 2011 to hold the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina looked like a bold move to reclaim a state he’d won in 2008. Today, it’s more like an awkward fit.

The state’s Democratic Party is mired in a sexual harassment scandal. Voters just approved a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which conflicts with Obama’s view on the issue. Convention fundraising has been slow, and labor unions tapped to fill the financial gap are angry the convention will be in a city — Charlotte — with no unionized hotels and in a state where compulsory union membership or the payment of dues is prohibited as an employment condition.

North Carolina’s 9.7 percent unemployment rate is above the national average and one of the host city’s top employers –Bank of America (BAC) – has announced job reductions. Obama is scheduled to accept his party’s nomination at Bank of America Stadium in September.

“It’s inconceivable that they would move the convention,” said Don Kettl, dean of the school of public policy at the University of Maryland. “But they may wish that they had placed their chips on another swing state.”

I.D. Required

Last night my husband bought a 12 oz. can of paint primer at a  home improvement store. He was required to either give the cashier his birth date or show her his driver’s license. When I asked why, she said it was to keep people from using the primer to get high.

About three weeks ago, I voted in the primary election. There is no such requirement to keep people from voting illegally. It makes no sense.