Proposed Final Redistricting Plans for Guilford County Commissioners Sent by the Legal Department

Guilford County Final Proposed Redistricting Plans

the above scribd file is the final proposed redistricting maps sent to the Guilford County Commissioners in regards to the 2011 redistricting process. If you would like to see the link of the Guilford County web site CLICKHERE

Redistricting and The Voting Rights Act Map for Guilford County and District #28

NC Senate proposed map for District 28 for Guilford County VRA

Above you will see the map proposed by the Chairman of the Senate Redistricting Commission in Sen. Rucho. This map shows Guilford County's Senate District #28 which is the Voting Rights Act district made up of majority- minority constituents.It looks like from the maps they stretched it to split a precinct to have Senator Robinson PG1 be a part of this majority minority district in the pleasant garden area.

You will also see that it looks like Senator Don Vaughan who is from G18 on the map will probably be in another district. As TRIADWATCH has stated in the past  CLICKHERE it might be the case that you will see a more heavily republican tint to the district in Guilford County. We will see when all the maps come out but as this maps indicates it seems like we might see more Republican voters actually be voting in a district in Guilford County  and not voting for a senator from another county in Sen. Phil Berger from Rockingham County or Sen. Stan Bingham from Davidson County.

Guest Column: Marcus Kindley Response to Editorial on Guilford County Redistricting

Guest Column from Marcus Kindley

My response to the Greensboro News and Record editorial concerning the redistricting of the Guilford County Commissioners.

Link to the Greensboro News and Record Editorial: Let Commissioners Do It CLICKHERE
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To Begin I quote,
“In a partisan power play 20 years ago, Democratic legislators created the current
11-member county board, with nine districts and only two commissioners elected at large. Now
Republicans have enough legislative muscle to change that configuration, but
what was state meddling two decades ago would be state meddling today.”

I venture to say that at that time the News and Record probably thought that this, to quote, “Partisan POWER Play” 20 years was just fine. I also venture to say they would have pointed out how wonderful it was.

Now, they think this was bad and that the duly elected House of Representatives should butt out. Yes, they, being the mouthpiece of the Democratic Party of NC, now believe that what the Dems did
while in power was ok, but with the GOP in charge we should let the DEMOCRAT
CONTROLLED county commissioners do the redistricting.

Does any intelligent person really believe that the DEMOCRAT CONTROLLED County Commissioners will redo their gerrymandering?

Will they open the door to lose control of their majority, to allow fair
representation for the citizens of Guilford County?

 Of course not! Are they that stupid, and yes I mean that!
No they are not. They are just showing the biased reporting and opinion of
their “ Paper”!

Now we will see the left in Guilford County start crying racism! Led by Commissioner Skip Austin, Count on it! I give it less than 24 hours. One thing about the Democrats they never deviate form their
playbook. The News and Record will provide all of the usual coverage. We as citizens must now stand against the onslaught of biased coverage and hateful rhetoric and make it possible for the Citizens of Guilford County to have the privilege of deciding who has OUR best interest at heart.

This bill is fair and levels the playing field. It was not, as the Democrat plan was and has been, stacked in favor of one group or another. The citizens of Guilford County now have the opportunity of true representation.

I thank Rep. John Blust for giving the citizens of Guilford County their right of representation back after being denied so long!

Last Call on Redistricting in North Carolina from WRAL LIVE FEED

On Monday 5-9-2011 this was the last chance to talk about redistricting before the state legislature makes changes to the congressional and state districts all over this state . The above video was taken by a live feed in the chambers from WRAL tv, the video last over an hour  CLICKHERE . It is great to see a local station provide this to the citizens because around these parts with a huge crowd at GTCC a few weeks ago in regards to redistricting there was not one media outlet to show up , pathetic.

One of the most vocal groups to speak on this subject is the Southern Coalition for Social Justice here is a link to their web site CLICKHERE . This is the same group who has spearheaded the opposition the the opening of the White Street Landfill along with speaking out on the redistricting process in Greensboro the past few weeks.

Enjoy the video because TRIADWATCH has a feeling that when the Republican majority comes out with their maps you will see a full throttle assault by

Open Letter To N.C. State Legislators on Redistricting of Senate Seats in Guilford County Read-Copy-Paste To Our Elected Officials

This post is an open letter to our North Carolina State legislators regarding Guilford County redistricting in regards to our state senators that in the past has been unfair and completely unconstitutional.  This is a message about how redistricting needs to change for voters in Guilford County and beyond.  Below the fold is the letter and some links to where you can tell your representatives how you feel. If you would like to copy and paste to send to our elected leaders please do.  If you want to tweak it a bit to include your own angle and/or forward to other North Carlolina voters, please do.

 I would also like to thank Yes! Weekly CLICKHERE page 23 and Brian Clarey for allowing me to be a part of their weekly paper with a scaled down version of this post.

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Dear North Carolina Legislators,

I am writing as a resident of Guilford County North Carolina who would like to see a change in the make up of our State Senators who represent Guilford County with the redistricting of 2011 upon us. Right now our county is divided by four senate seats.  The districts and senators are: #26 Senator Phil Berger, #27 Don Vaughan, #28 Senator Gladys Robinson, and #33 Senator Stan Bingham. Let's take a look at what our North Carolina State Constitution has to say about redistricting of North Carolina Senate Seats.

Article II Section 3.
Senate districts; apportionment of Senators.



The Senators shall be elected from districts. The General Assembly, at the first regular session convening after the return of every decennial census of population taken by order of Congress, shall revise the senate districts and the apportionment of Senators among those districts, subject to the following requirements:


(1) Each Senator shall represent, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, the number of inhabitants that each Senator represents being determined for this purpose by dividing the population of the district that he represents by the number of Senators apportioned to that district;


(2) Each senate district shall at all times consist of contiguous territory;


(3) No county shall be divided in the formation of a senate district;


(4) When established, the senate districts and the apportionment of Senators shall remain unaltered until the return of another decennial census of population taken by order of Congress.

As you can see from the above segment taken from our state constitution it states that "no county shall be divided in the formation of a senate district". In Guilford County we have not one but two senators who break this state constitutional amendment in Senator Phil Berger from Rockingham County and Senator Stan Bingham from Davidson County. The other 2 senators from Guilford County in Sen. Don Vaughan and Sen. Gladys Robinson are 100% of their district in Guilford County.

According to the new 2010 census numbers the ideal population of our state senators is for each district to be at 190,710. Senator Berger's total population in district #26 in 2000 was 168,953, and the 2010 numbers are 196,857 with a change of +16.5%.  In Senator Berger's district for 2010 with the ideal population being 190,710 he is plus 6,147 which is 3.2% over the number to hit. This number is very significant because in regards to other senators from Guilford County, Senator Vaughan's census numbers  for an ideal population came in way under the threshold at 182,024 with a negative of -8,686 at -4.6%.

Below is a segment from the NCGA web site in regards to Redistricting

Division of Counties Must Be Minimized:

Article II of the State Constitution says that in drawing State House and Senate districts, no county shall be divided. In 1981, the US Department of Justice said that requirement was inconsistent with the Voting Rights Act, so the General Assembly disregarded it for 21 years. Then in 2002 the State Supreme Court in the case of Stephenson v. Bartlett said the "Whole County Provision", found in the State Constitution must be honored to the extent it can be honored, consistent with the Voting Rights Act and other State and federal precepts. The Stephenson decision for the first time said the equal protection clause of the State Constitution contained a presumption for single-member legislative districts, and that presumption should be a limitation on the Whole County Provision. The US Justice Department approved the Stephenson opinion and withdrew its 1981 objection to the Whole County Provision. The Court in Stephenson prescribed a step-by-step method for harmonizing the Whole County Provision with the other laws. First, the General Assembly should draw the districts required by the Voting Rights Act. Second, it should take all the counties with just the right population to be single-member districts and make them one-county single-member districts. Third, it should take all the counties that have just the right populations for one or more districts and divide those counties into compact single-member districts. Fourth, for the remaining counties it should group them into clusters of counties and divide the clusters into compact single-member districts, crossing county lines within the cluster as little as possible.

As you can see from the last statement from this section of the NCGA web site, it states that crossing into county lines within the cluster as little as possible, but we have two senate districts crossing into Guilford County. We also have some numbers from the 2003 redistricting plan that sheds some light on these senate seats:

Senator Bingham had 21,635 Guilford County residents which is 12.81% of his district.Sen Bingham had 5.14% of the Guilford County residents in his district with a total population in 2003 in Guilford County to be 421,048.

Senator Berger had 77,025 Guilford County residents, which is 45.59% of his district. Sen. Berger had 18.29% of the Guilford County residents in his district from the total population in Guilford County at 421,048.

Why are these 2 numbers so significant?  Because as we see what was written from the NCGA web site and stated above "crossing county lines within the cluster as little as possible".  If you add both Sen. Bingham at being in Guilford County at 5.14% and also Sen. Phil Berger at 18.29% that adds up to 23.43% of total residents of Guilford County who are represented by these two senators who cross county lines unconstitutionally, and being at 23.43% of total Guilford County residents is not even close to being as little as possible crossing into Guilford County.  

As a Guilford County resident it would be to the benefit of the redistricting committee to take the state constitution at it's word and not cross county lines but as we have seen from the past and also the voting rights act that is not possible. What is possible is to take the residents of Senator Berger's district who are in Guilford County since he is over the ideal population in 2010 and have them be a part of Guilford County, in either Senator Vaughan's or Sen. Robinson's districts.  Does Sen. Stan Bingham need to be in Guilford County at all at 5.14 % of Guilford County population?  I would say NO.

We have seen in the past where the gerrymandering of these districts have really taken a turn for the worse because of non competition and having party affiliation be a part of the process. This is seen where both Sen. Bingham and Sen. Berger take a huge population of republican voters out of guilford county and keep their districts safe for them . This in turn gives the advantage to the democratic party in Guilford County to keep a strong hold on the other 2 senate seats.In the 2010 elections Sen. Vaughan won by a margin of 60% to 40% and the other race in Sen Robinson had a split 3 way race where it was a 47% to 38% to 13% but the 13 % was actually a democratic party affiliated person in Bruce Davis running as a independent on the ballot for reasons too complex to go into here

Even if you wanted to put on a partisan hat for a moment and look at what is happening in Guilford County it would be to your benefit to have these republicans voters in the districts in Guilford County vote in these senate seats and could possibly have a candidate who could come close to running against these races but having a 60% to 40% split is not helping the cause in having a fair and  compact district to have a competitive race. Why waste your money when the numbers are so far off to compete in these senate seats.

Thanks for your consideration in regards to the situation in Guilford County and hopefully making these senate districts more compact and fair to the citizens. Hopefully we will see a change for the better because in the past it has not been fair or constitutional. I'll end with a quote from Senate Majority leader Senator Phil Berger in the Triad Business Journal in regards to redistricting, "What you will see is the Republican legislature follow the law". I hope you will follow the law and not cross county lines for senate seats in Guilford County and if you do cross into Guilford County it should be as little as possible - not at the 23.43% that has been done in the past.
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Here is a link to a place where you can submit your thoughts on redistricting and if you agree with any piece of what was written please feel free to copy and send to you state house and senate members
CLICKHERE

also here is a link to the chairman of the senate redistricting committee
Sen. Bob Rucho  CLICKHERE

also here is a link to the chairman of the house redistricting committee
senior chairman Rep. David Lewis CLICKHERE

also links to the redistricting committee
Senate CLICKHERE
House CLICKHERE

Rep. Brad Miller Is Toast And Hopefully Gone from Guilford County When Redistricting Happens

The Washington Post had a interesting article online in regards to the redistricting of house members with the title "The most likely redistricting victims" CLICKHERE .  In the article called THE FIX Aaron Blake has a
Top 10 victims in regards to redistricting in 2011 and our gerrymandered make a seat tailored to myself
Rep. Brad Miller was #2 on the list and here is what they had to say about him,

2. Brad Miller (D-N.C.): Ten years ago, as a state senator, Miller helped draw the lines for his own district. Even Democrats admit it’s a pretty blatant gerrymander. Now that Republicans control the process, it will be easy for them to get revenge by cutting off the the skinny fingers where his district reaches into Democratic territory in Raleigh and Greensboro. Such a change would shift the district instantly into a pretty strong Republican seat. Republicans aim to pick off two or three seats in North Carolina, and none should be easier than Miller’s. (Republicans point out that Miller raised just $32,000 in the first quarter and has just $69,000 on hand — not exactly the numbers of someone gearing up to run in a very tough seat.)

It will be interesting to see what happens on the state level in regards to this issue but I have a feeling we might see Rep. Howard Coble become the only representative from Guilford County which to me would be a good thing for the residents of Guilford County.

Vote The Person Not The Party Act Senate Bill #411

North Carolina Senators filed this bill on 3-254-2011,#411 titled "Vote The Person Not The Party Act" .The primary sponsors of this bill are Senator Newton,Meredith and Brown. CLICKHERE

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED


AN ACT TO ELIMINATE THE OPTION OF STRAIGHT-PARTY TICKET VOTING ON  BALLOTS IN NORTH CAROLINA.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 163-165.6(e) is repealed.
SECTION 2. G.S. 163-182.1(a)(7) is repealed.
SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law.

It is time this bill becomes law and the straight party ticket become a thing of the past.

New Study: More Than 130 Top Congressional Staffers Are Former Lobbyists -. Senator Kay Hagan from N.C. Joined The Club

New Study: More Than 130 Top Congressional Staffers Are Former Lobbyists - OpenSecrets Blog OpenSecrets

With permission from Opensecrets.org and Center for Responsive politics

At least 130 current congressional chiefs of staff and legislative directors are former lobbyists, new research by the Center for Responsive Politics and Remapping Debate indicates.


And some of these powerful staffers -- both Democrats and Republicans -- have worked multiple lobbying jobs prior to working in their current congressional capacities, the project finds.

The majority of chiefs of staff and legislative directors represented corporations, trade organizations, or worked for lobbying firms that represented corporations, but a wide range of entities were represented: from the National Right to Work Committee to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; from King & Spalding to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group; and from the American Insurance Association to Human Rights Campaign.

"The bottom line is that many of the most powerful congressional staffers, who are now responsible for working on behalf of the public's interest, used to make a living convincing the government to benefit a client's special interest," said Sheila Krumholz, the Center's executive director. "Such relationships could present conflicts of interest and deserve continued scrutiny."

Said Craig Gurian, editor of Remapping Debate: "People have begun to appreciate that the flow of public officials and staffers to lobbying entities -- particularly to those who serve interests regulated by Congress -- has a significant and corrosive influence on the shape of public policy. The new tool that we have developed with the Center for Responsive Politics makes clear that those risks can be present when the revolving door brings former lobbyists -- especially those serving a narrow private interest rather than a broad public interest -- into government."

The public is already able to explore where outgoing senators and representatives from the 111th Congress are now employed thanks to a tracking tools deployed this January and available both from Remapping Debate and from the Center for Responsive Politics. Since then, the Center and Remapping the Debate the organizations have regularly bolstered the tracking tool.

Help the Center and Remapping Debate continue to expand the tracking tool by adding your own insight to the comings and goings of former members of Congress.
===

Remapping Debate, an online public policy news journal, believes that there is a fundamental (and democracy-corroding) paradox about the media ecosystem that needs to be addressed: for all the outlets and for all the bytes, the “why” and “why not” questions of public policy are too rarely addressed. Remapping Debate seeks to address this deficiency through probing reporting that asks these questions and thereby encourages more robust public policy debate.

The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking and reporting on money in U.S. federal politics and its effect on elections and public policy. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Center aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government. The Center's award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, is the most comprehensive resource for campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available anywhere. The Center relies on support from a combination of foundation grants, individual contributions and custom data work. The Center accepts no contributions from businesses, labor unions or trade associations.

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Now we find out that our own local Senator  Kay Hagan just in the past few months hired a new Chief of Staff in Thomas O'Donnell a former lobbyist , here is what was said in media on this appointment;

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan says she has hired a former senior official in the Clinton administration as her chief of staff.


The North Carolina Democrat said in a news release that 52-year-old Tom O'Donnell will replace Crystal King who had been chief of staff since Hagan took office in 2009.


From 1993 to 1997, O'Donnell was chief of staff of the president's Council of Economic Advisers then the White House National Economic Council. O'Donnell graduated from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin and comes to Hagan's office from the D.C.-based firm of Crowell & Moring where he was a partner.


Hagan says O'Donnell has been a senior manager of presidential nominating conventions; experience that will be valuable as Charlotte hosts the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Let's take a closer look at Tom O'Donnell from opensecrets.org CLICKHERE .

Now we have our own Senator from N.C. in Kay Hagan on this list of hiring a lobbyist as a congressional staffer.

Congressman Brad Miller TIme To Get out of Guilford County

HT: Antics Road Show CLICKHERE

Please see the post by jon on this issue above. Redistricting is going to come and go as quickly as we can say go and it is very important for all involved to know how we feel. In the post at antics road show it shows the map of Congressman Brad Miller's district which goes from raleigh all the way dipping down into guilford county as well.

Here is a quote from the post

"The 13th district as drawn is an outrage and an afront to the citizens of Guilford County, that will hopefully be corrected by the current legislature."

Well said and agree 100%. It is time for Congressman Brad Miller to get out of Guilford County .

Former Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson Tags Tea Party as Extremist

Heard from a fellow friend who sent me the transcript of a robo call voice mail message that was sent from former Greensboro Mayor and Democratic operative Yvonne Johnson . Here is what was said in the phone message sent out to Greensboro citizens.

"This is former Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson . It has almost been a year today that I lost me re-election bid by a few hundred votes. But I am not calling to talk about me, this call is about you. Republicans are turning out to early vote in record numbers and some Democrats are just sitting at home, things that are important to you are at stake to you in this year's election. Everything from jobs to schools.


Your vote is urgently needed to stop the EXTREMIST TEA PARTY  candidates from taking control of our government. Please Please vote. For more information bla bla bla . Paid for by Guilford County Democratic Party. "

Nice to see our former mayor tag the tea party as extremist. Also on a side note it was more than a few hundred votes but actually 961 votes. Nice try and good luck on tuesday.

Spot On Post from Guarino on Greensboro Partnership, and the Missing President

Joe Guarino has a new post titled "The Mystery of the Missing Chamber of Commerce President" CLICKHERE .

In the post Guarino say this:

"If Clapper was a leader with a military background, he presumably had inculcated into him a sense of honor in the context of a merit-based system. The Greensboro Partnership and Action Greensboro, however, consist of unelected elites trying to influence policy in the city of Greensboro and Guilford County according to the playbook of the Democratic Party.



I would argue that represents a culture clash. Clapper's local leaders were busy agitating for more and more public spending and bond issues, and certain local projects to be placed on the taxpayers' dime. In addition, they were crawling in bed with a corrupt PAC."

Strong words that ring true in Greensboro N.C.

Part #3 on Obstruction of Justice at the North Carolina Board of Elections It is Time for Heads To Roll

HAT TIP:Jeffrey Sykes
 Part #3 with more video embedded above on the North Carolina Board of Elections and all of these campaign flights with Richard Moore who was a candidate for governor is challenging the reports made by the North Carolina Board of Elections and that he did follow the law. The report above is from ABC 11 CLICKHERE and if you would like to see the other parts of this issue here are the links below

PART #1  CLICKHERE

PART #2 CLICKHERE

North Carolina Democratic Party What Are You Thinking? Just Business As Usual

Raleigh News and Observer with a title "Democrats raise money, eyebrows"  CLICKHERE

It seems like business as usual for the North Carolina Democratic Party with fundraisers like this.Will they ever change? Probably not. Will they ever learn? Probably not.

Here is a few quotes from the article.

"Holding a fundraiser the day before voting on the budget and an ethics bill is an action that the word hypocrisy does not begin to define," said Tom Fetzer, the chairman of the state Republican Party. "This clearly violates the spirit of state ethics laws and reveals that all the Democrats' talk about ethics is just that."


It is illegal under state law for lobbyists to make political contributions to legislators or members of the Council of State, including the governor. It is also illegal for elected officials to raise money from political action committees while the legislature is in session.

But there are no such limits on political donations to political parties. Political parties, in turn, can make unlimited donations to the re-election campaigns of state lawmakers.

This is the same North Carolina Democratic Party who are in the middle of a scandal as we speak in regards to campaign contributions funnelled through the North Carolina Democratic Party to the Mike Easley campaign and they have this fundraiser while the state house is in session and right before the budget is getting ready to be approved, amazing.

Overhauling the whole campaign system is a understatement and the first rule should be this.

IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY YOUR OWN PLANE THEN YOU DON'T GET TO CAMPAIGN ON SOMEONE ELSE'S PLANE , FLY COMMERCIAL OR DRIVE YOUR OWN CAR.

Part #2 on Obstruction of Justice at the North Carolina Board of Elections, GOP wants Resignations and Answers

ABC 11 WSOC had a news segment on the issue of the North Carolina State Board of Elections and the North Carolina Republican Party wanting answers and resignations. CLick on the embedded above. If you would like to see the whole memo from Tom Fetzer of the NCGOP CLICKHERE

Call for Racial Unity in Greensboro N.C. by Marcus Brandon

The above video is from the Greensboro City Council meeting on June 1, 2010 where Marcus Brandon made a call for racial unity in Greensboro N.C.

Here is a little background on Marcus Brandon after his election defeat of Earl Jones in N.C. House District 60 from John Hammer from the Rhino Times

" The shocker on election night was that District 60 North Carolina state Rep. Earl Jones lost to political newcomer Marcus Brandon in the Democratic primary.


Still, it is a shock for a political newcomer like Brandon to pull such an upset. Brandon said he has been working on this for over a year. Jones has always been vulnerable to a big campaigner because Jones doesn't usually do much unless someone convinces him that he is about to lose. Jones ended up with 1,083 votes for 40 percent, and Brandon got 1,612 for 60 percent of the votes."

Later in the article was this quote,

"Brandon said he thought it was time to move past the politics of the lunch counter and the picket line. If he is as good as his word, Brandon could help bring about some needed change in the state."

After seeing the video and with this quote above and also seeing Marcus Brandon at a forum before the primary election it is no wonder he won with over 60% of the votes. There is still a general election come fall with Marcus Brandon going against Republican Lonnie Wilson but with a lot of these districts gerrymandered to favor certain parties you will probably see Marcus Brandon in Raleigh come next year . This video will show that Marcus Brandon wants racial unity for all of GreensboroNorth Carolina.

The video embedded above is a must see video for all citizens of Greensboro.

Climate Summit Junket? Government Waste from D.C. to Copenhagen

CBS News has a nice investigative report on the Climate Summit to Copenhagen and a great example of Government Waste at it's best.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Governor Perdue Time For A Little Ethics Cleansing, Open Letter from Concerned Citizen

Below is a open letter for North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue from Joe Sinsheimer who is a campaign finance reformer and was awarded by the N.C. Press Association back in 2007 with the William C. Lassiter First Amendment Award, which is given annually to a non-journalist who has worked for open government and free speech.


With permission from Joe Sinsheimer here is his open letter to the Governor of North Carolina Beverly Perdue.


November 18, 2009
Governor Bev Perdue
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

Dear Governor Perdue,

The recent State Board of Election hearings on Governor Easley and his alleged
campaign activities, as well as the Verizon contracting scandal, have once again shaken confidence in our state government. These repeated scandals are damaging our state’s reputation for honest government and demand executive leadership. While we all hope the General Assembly will take on the call of reform in the 2010 session, there are a number of positive and immediate steps you could take as governor to help restore confidence in state government:

First, ask Ruffin Poole to resign from the Board of Directors of the Golden
LEAF foundation. Mr. Poole’s decision to refuse/fight a subpoena by the State Board of Elections demands this action. While Mr. Poole has a constitutional right against selfincrimination, it is disgraceful that a state appointee to a board as important as Golden LEAF would refuse to answer questions from another state board. Having already spent close to $400 million of state money and with another half a billion in its accounts, Golden LEAF should play a forceful role in the state’s economic future without North Carolinians worrying about unseemly corruptive influence. Golden LEAF’s work should be held to the highest ethical standards. Recent testimony from the State Board of Elections indicates that Mr. Poole does not meet those standards. While you may lack
legal grounds to demand Mr. Poole’s resignation, the governor does command a bully pulpit and you would send a strong message of your expectations of those servings in state government if you asked Mr. Poole to resign immediately.

Second, release all the investigative reports on the missing 2005 State
Highway patrol records including those from the special investigative panel you
formed in August and the patrol’s internal affairs unit. In May 2009, the News and Observer first reported Capt. Melvin’s February 2009 visit to the Easley personal residence to deliver what Capt. Melvin has since described as a “personal” hard drive. Six months later, we still do not have answers to what Capt. Melvin delivered, nor do we have answers to the important question of whether the Highway Patrol has been engaged in a political cover-up. To date, the only report that has been issued from your administration is a four-page document which could be generously described as “amateurish.” On August 26, 2009, N.C. Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young told reporters: “Governor Perdue and I are determined to do everything in our power to find
the answers regarding the 2005 records.” It is now time for you to honor that commitment and release all of the investigative reports in this matter including those produced by the patrol’s internal affairs unit.

Third, impose a 90-day freeze on the environmental permitting process for
Titan Cement and ask Attorney General Roy Cooper to conduct an investigation
into whether any undue political pressure has been involved in the permitting
process to date. The Attorney General’s investigation should focus on actions taken by the Easley Administration to exempt Titan from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) as well as the state senate’s abrupt decision to kill legislation on this matter this year without a vote. Three recent events have diminished public confidence in the state’s
environmental permitting process. These events include 1) the federal bribery convictions of a NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official and two corporate executives in the Agri-Ethanol case; 2) testimony during the State Board of Elections hearings that top Easley administration officials were helping a coastal developer with a permitting issue at the same time they were soliciting a $50,000 contribution from that same developer; and 3) federal officials recently serving DENR with a half dozen subpoenas that indicate that they are probing whether anyone made payoffs or offered gratuities to state officials during the permitting process. The people of
North Carolina, especially those living in southeast North Carolina near the proposed plant, have to know with 100% certainty that the Titan case has been handled fairly. Given recent events, that can’t be said right now. That is why I am asking you take this extraordinary extra step in this controversial case.

Three years ago, just months before Jim Black pled guilty to three separate
felonies, I sent Governor Easley a similar letter that included this paragraph: “Too many North Carolinians still believe that government service is an opportunity to enrich themselves or protect their industry’s economic interests. Gubernatorial leadership, as well as further changes to our state’s campaign finance laws, will help alleviate this problem.” Governor Easley never responded to the letter, an action I believe spoke volumes about his interest in honest government. I hope and trust you will choose a different path.

Sincerely,


Joe Sinsheimer

Star Fleet Academy Video on House Bill 1623 from House Rep. Earl Jones Bad Bill of The Week

The Civitas Review has this as their Bad Bill of The Week CLICKHERE above is a youtube video from Civitas Review on the Star Fleet Academy at North Carolina A & T State University.

Cap and Tax, Cap and Tax Say Hell No to Cap and Tax

Net Right Nation has this post above from Rep. Eric Cantor who made this great video of what will happen to the country if the Cap & Trade bill passes.

Net Right Nation also has a post titled "The Cap and Tax Fiction" CLICKHERE

Tom Fetzer Running For NCGOP Chairman Ad on Democratic Corruption in N.C.

(HAT TIP) UNDERTHEDOME CLICKHERE

Tom Fetzer who is running for chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party has a new ad out which you can see in the video above. The ad talks about the democratic corruption in the State of North Carolina and showing some great examples of our last Governor Mike Easley who got a sweetheart deal on property down near the coast plus a sweetheart deal on some cars for his family members plus a sweetheart deal on flying all over the country with campaign donors and his wife Mary Easley got a sweetheart deal on a job at N.C. State University.

It will be a very interesting Republican convention next weekend and hopefully the new chairman of the Republican Party of North Carolina can make a difference in this state.