Quote :

"the purpose of the lottery is to make more money for education"

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

8/25/2005 10:22:59 AM

why does the government have to tell me what is good for me
i can make my own decisions
stupid liberals trying to control people

8/25/2005 10:25:09 AM

I haven't read the thread yet so forgive me if someone has already touched on the subject.

Gov. Easley wants a lottery. He says that he wants the lottery to deal with the current education crisis. I am surprised that no one has called him on this. He created the education crisis. The legislature sets the budget each year. I am sure they are getting their arm twisted into reducing the amount of money that gets budgeted to education each year in hopes that it is enough for the people that are against the lottery to finally cave.

What's that? The lottery bill failed again? Better reduce the amount of money for education some more and try again next year.

8/25/2005 12:21:13 PM

Quote :

"why does the government have to tell me what is good for me i can make my own decisions stupid liberals trying to control people"

Yeah, I'm about to draft a bill up that says that no NC resident can cross state borders or go online to play the lottery.

8/25/2005 12:22:33 PM

Quote :

"jbtilley: I haven't read the thread yet so forgive me if someone has already touched on the subject. Gov. Easley wants a lottery. He says that he wants the lottery to deal with the current education crisis. I am surprised that no one has called him on this. He created the education crisis. The legislature sets the budget each year. I am sure they are getting their arm twisted into reducing the amount of money that gets budgeted to education each year in hopes that it is enough for the people that are against the lottery to finally cave."

Um, no.

I'm no fan of Governor Easley, but even I'll admit that the problems with the state budget (and hence, education funding) aren't really his fault. The budgets coming from the governor have been quite generous to education, considering the constraints that he's under. If you're looking for someone to blame, Jim Hunt's probably the guy you need to be looking at.

Moreover, though, Easley doesn't carry that much sway at the legislature...Basnight, Rand and Black basically run that place and Easley's lucky if they're all on the same page.

8/25/2005 12:49:12 PM

Quote :

"JonHGuth: why does the government have to tell me what is good for me i can make my own decisions stupid liberals trying to control people"

Quote :

"John Hood: • Misguided Libertarians — I don't mean members of the Libertarian Party, most of whom oppose the lottery for the reasons listed immediately above. What I mean is a broader segment of the state's population who don't want to be told what to do. They believe in the right to gamble their money away if they want to. [This] is evidence of faulty reasoning. Whether to allow North Carolinians the freedom to gamble is a separate issue from the idea of having the state of North Carolina monopolize gambling and actively promote its citizens to play."

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 12:54 PM. Reason : ---]

8/25/2005 12:53:23 PM

you kinda missed my point
it was subtle
im sorry

8/25/2005 1:13:52 PM

Kay_Yow

Thanks for the info. I want to make sure I'm making the right voodoo dolls. Production of the Easley voodoo doll has not halted BTW.

8/25/2005 1:22:45 PM

Quote :

"JonHGuth: you kinda missed my point it was subtle im sorry"

so you're telling me you're one of the anti-lottery people?

8/25/2005 2:29:34 PM

Quote :

"the purpose of the lottery is to make more money for the state and claim its for education"

there we go. fixed that.

8/25/2005 2:41:47 PM

I too was surprised to see the Senate leadership not calling the vote when they could have ensured its passage - Democrat putting ethics above political advantage? Hmm something must be up. Maybe that is one of the only reasons that Democrats continue to stay in state legislative power in conservative NC? Sort of like people argue that if Roe v. Wade were overturned it would cripple the Republican party because that issue is allegedly one of the strongest reasons people vote Republican. Maybe the Democrats knew full well that if their only issue is gone, then their only major "leg up" in the conservative state of NC would be gone.

8/27/2005 6:55:44 PM

Looks like I spoke too soon, we'll have a lottery by the end of the week

8/29/2005 12:07:40 PM

how so? ^

seeing as Katrina owns all media coverage, even here, i can't seem to find anything on the lottery.

8/29/2005 1:10:56 PM

Quote :

"roguewolf: how so? ^"

still technically just rumors floating around the NCGA. speculation was going on last week and got picked up by the N&O on Saturday here:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/2759847p-9198185c.html

apparently that piece is right on the $texas...

8/29/2005 1:25:41 PM

North Carolina has had two Republican governors in a century--I'm not foreseeing a great change in the tide anytime soon...with or without the lottery as an issue. Though, I will say, this is the most organized I've seen the GOP in North Carolina in...well, ever. Way to keep your guys in line...too bad it happened after you relegated yourselves back to minority status in both chambers.

I checked out the article in this weekend's N&O on Saturday and it looks like we should have a lottery by Tuesday night.

8/29/2005 1:44:18 PM

Quote :

"Kay_Yow: too bad it happened after you relegated yourselves back to minority status in both chambers"

My thoughts exactly, I'm inclined to make my next column a tribute to Art Pope...

---

Word emanating from Democratic leadership today is that Garwood is definitely 100% no-chance-of-changing not going to be in session tomorrow. With Brown on his honeymoon, there goes any hope of keeping any margin.

I hate cowards, especially political cowards...

[Edited on August 29, 2005 at 1:58 PM. Reason : ---]

8/29/2005 1:57:56 PM

Clarification...is the bill currently for a referendum on a lottery? If so, when's the vote?

8/29/2005 2:10:48 PM

^
no, this'll be for an actual honest-to-God lottery. the whole lineage of how it came about is complicated political manuevering, but there will be no referendum.

8/29/2005 2:26:56 PM

Quote :

"putting ethics above political advantage? "

Llllllllllllllooks like I spoke too soon.

8/29/2005 3:23:06 PM

I think if the vote comes up this time (which apparently, it will) then its fair game.

Last time it was super shady because one person didn't fill out the proper paperwork, but this time it seems like people are going AWOL. There are Republicans who, clearly, want to vote for a lottery, but are afraid of Pope & Co. coming after them. It's much easier to explain an absence than to explain your voting record, I suppose.

---

Thanks for the information TGD. Interesting column today about this issue.

8/29/2005 4:32:38 PM

thx, just a damn shame it won't convince anyone

I'm seriously inclined to vote for Janet Cowell in 2006 though, solely b/c of her staring down the Guv...

8/29/2005 5:36:50 PM

If someone is in the hospital, it is not fair to penalize them for the absence. As I understand it, one of the Senators is in the hospital?

TGD you will have to be one of my consultants in my 2006 Senate campaign. You seem to know what you're doing.

8/29/2005 8:47:38 PM

Looks like it's Bev Perdue '08 for sure.

8/30/2005 1:47:28 PM

Quote :

""Democrats putting ethics above political advantage? " Llllllllllllllooks like I spoke too soon."

8/30/2005 2:37:54 PM

yay, nc actually is moving a step in the right direction!

8/30/2005 2:39:53 PM

How do you think state politics will be affected by this?

8/30/2005 2:44:12 PM

im not really sure....i havent lived in nc for about a year and a half, so i havent paid any attention to the politics down there in a while.

im just glad to see that the state is finally starting to come out of the dark ages.

8/30/2005 2:50:18 PM

Quote :

"i think there is enough pork spending flowing through the Gen. Assembly leadership right now, the dems dont need to worry too much just yet about losing the lottery. what you should watch is whether it shores up the Art Pope contengency, or they jump to another issue"

my post in the lounge thread^

[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 3:05 PM. Reason : .]

8/30/2005 2:50:58 PM

It seems to me that the state legislature is simply corrupt - when you sacrifice ethics, then what else is there for you?

8/30/2005 2:55:33 PM

politics

8/30/2005 2:57:41 PM

well, the first step to taking back the general assembly is to sweep out the incompetence of the NCGOP leadership top down

8/30/2005 3:00:01 PM

^^ Politics does not have to equal corruption. I am as political as anyone, but when I get elected to the Georgia Senate next year I would never support having a 50-50 vote when one of the opponents is in the hospital, and I would never support lying in order to get a Senator to leave on a honeymoon so that he could be out of chamber.

[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 3:04 PM. Reason : add]

8/30/2005 3:04:01 PM

when I get elected to the Georgia Senate next year

8/30/2005 3:05:43 PM

Think positive never use "if"

8/30/2005 3:11:13 PM

joe lieberman said that a lot.

it didnt work.

8/30/2005 3:14:01 PM

PWNT LIKE A FOX

8/30/2005 3:16:12 PM

lol Joe Lieberman and I are not really on the same page

8/30/2005 3:20:42 PM

in regards to the whole "think positive" thing you are.

8/30/2005 3:22:18 PM

but in regards to... well, most everything else, nope.

8/30/2005 3:22:54 PM

thats fine...i wasnt talking about other things.

8/30/2005 3:29:36 PM

as it please you.

Hey, TGD, since you seem to be knowledgeable about state politics - someone told me that the student vote on the Board of Governors passed, is that right? If so, awesome.

8/30/2005 3:47:45 PM

Quote :

"Wolfpack2K: Hey, TGD, since you seem to be knowledgeable about state politics - someone told me that the student vote on the Board of Governors passed, is that right? If so, awesome."

Hadn't heard about it yet, went down to the NCGA snack bar after the lottery vote and they had adjourned by the time I got back.

It wouldn't surprise me though -- with tuition autonomy being proposed this last session, the BOG will now be a permanent irrelevancy until it gets abolished. It's a pyrrhic victory for students.

[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 4:09 PM. Reason : ---]

8/30/2005 4:06:42 PM

charles makes some good food down there

8/30/2005 4:15:11 PM

^
Agreed, absolutely delicious.

---

Quote :

"Kay_Yow: Looks like it's Bev Perdue '08 for sure. "

and boy was she grinning from ear to ear too. I half wished one of the Republicans had caved so she wouldn't get to cast the tie vote.

[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 4:21 PM. Reason : ---]

8/30/2005 4:21:09 PM

id like to go on record as saying that i love the phrase pyrrhic victory

8/30/2005 4:45:32 PM

Bad idea.

8/30/2005 6:43:45 PM

lottery pwnt? didn't the bill just pass the senate today though?


Hmm, yeah... looks like it did...
http://www.wral.com/news/4914440/detail.html

sooo... TGD = pwnt?

[Edited on August 30, 2005 at 6:55 PM. Reason : ]

8/30/2005 6:53:29 PM

yeah, that's what makes this thread so fucking funny

8/30/2005 6:54:25 PM

the thread was made back when they said that the lottery was defeated for the year. It turns out that was just a lie to get that one lottery opponent to go on a trip, and then call everyone back into session.

8/30/2005 7:19:36 PM

a trip? you mean to the hopsital?

8/30/2005 7:27:45 PM