On the political right, where Michele Bachmann is taken seriously as a presidential candidate, the story is told that disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner “most likely” is a secret Muslim convert because his wife, Huma Abedin, is Muslim. Weiner, of course, is Jewish. But according to Robert Spencer, described by Salon magazine as “the go-to Islam […]
Bob Geary
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Another Perdue veto: HB 854, the “Women Are Stupid Act”
Its purpose: Interfere with a woman’s constitutional rights. Gov. Perdue’s response: She vetoed House Bill 854, the so-called “Women’s Right to Know Act.” It would’ve required women to delay having an abortion until they’d sat through a spiel about why they shouldn’t, thought about it for 24 hours — and paid for an ultrasound. From […]
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Margiotta splits with Tata over the Blue plan’s achievement goal
In this week’s Indy (“Yellow light for Wake schools Blue plan”), I tried to lay out the key issues I see ahead for Wake Schools Superintendent Tony Tata’s Blue plan. They are: (1) Will enough seats be reserved in the so-called Achievement schools for kids coming from high-poverty, low-achievement neighborhoods? (2) Will the school system […]
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Photo ID bill: Veto’d by Perdue
House Bill 351: Possibly the worst bill sent to her by the Republicans in the General Assembly, and this afternoon Gov. Perdue sent it right back to them. It didn’t pass by a veto-proof majority in the House, incidentally — the 51 “no” votes give Perdue a couple to spare. Perdue: “The right to choose […]
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Billie Redmond enters the Raleigh mayor’s race
photo by Bob GearyBillie Redmond’s announcement; that’s John Odom behind her. Redmond’s claim to the job: She’ll be the best salesperson the city could have. Off a very successful career in real estate, she does know how to make a sales pitch. Her announcement this morning drew a big crowd — maybe 200? — to […]
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Yellow light for Wake schools Blue plan
Wake County Public School System Superintendent Tony Tata thought his Blue plan for student assignment needed a test-drive. Sure enough, while Blue enjoyed a smooth ride through the Wake suburbs, it coughed and sputtered in Southeast Raleigh and Eastern Wake Countycritical rough spots for a controlled-choice plan that is heavily dependent on parents’ involvement if […]
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Wake school board reorganizes: Chaos ensues.
[Update: Now that I’m home and drinking a beer, one final, summary post. For more than two hours, the school board majority held out for John Tedesco to be elected vice chair and Ron Margiotta’s heir apparent as chair. The majority, that is, minus Debra Goldman. Through 55 ballots, Republican Goldman refused to vote with […]
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“Creative District” study moves forward for SW Raleigh
from SouthwestRaleigh.com A quick update on this story from last week: The City Council voted 7-1 today to let the Southwest Raleigh economic development study go forward at a cost of $150,000 (plus $40,000 from N.C. State University). The lone no vote today, as she was at the Budget and Economic Development Committee a week […]
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Kissing called for at Crabtree Valley Saturday: Partner’s gender up 2 U
from the LUSH website This sounds like fun: Show up at Crabtree Valley Mall Saturday morning and, at 11:38, proceed to kiss. Best to bring a partner. (I don’t know that eligible kiss-ee’s will be hanging around. Maybe.) Your partner’s gender is, of course, up to you. Why wouldn’t it be? *** Has it really […]
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John Tedesco has a job … he’s an education reformer
Worried that John Tedesco of Wake County school board fame (or infame, as the case may be) was out of work? Fear not — he has new a gig fronting for the North Carolina Center for Education Reform. (Correction: The Center for Education Reform is a different animal — my mistake for linking to it […]
