newsobserver.com projects - Arthur Williams - Comments

Re: Milk chugged for charity

melted — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:59:19 -0400

And us taxpayers paid each legislator $104 in per diem money yesterday to chug milk instead of working on passing a budget. It was taxpayer money wasted because every second the general assembly is in session right now should be spent on passing a budget. They should be working 24 hours a day since they were unwilling to pass a budget by June 30th. Another waste of time and taxpayer money by the general assembly. Keep this event in mind when you go to the polls. Remember us taxpayers are paying the general assembly as a whole $17,600 every day in per diem money. Was it worth that amount of money for the publicity of chugging milk. I don't think so.

Re: Boating classes bill sails through House

dlhertzberg — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:35:29 -0400

So, ain't talking about me. Skeet, skeet! If they had the common sense God gives upon arrival, they would have old sailors teach the class. Because they lived through it. Honestly, I was too young to get a skippership from Camp Morehead, but I loved sitting through class. It is very rewarding in the long haul.

Re: Boating classes bill sails through House

AquaMan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:46:19 -0400

Robert Anton Wilson has defined modern liberalism:

That school of capitalist philosophy which attempts to correct the injustices of capitalism by adding new laws to the existing laws. Each time conservatives pass a law creating privilege, liberals pass another law modifying privilege, leading conservatives to pass a more subtle law recreating privilege, etc., until “everything not forbidden is compulsory” and “everything not compulsory is forbidden”.

Re: Lawmakers consider prison problems

bigdogops — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:16:57 -0500

The people need to make up their minds. One pretty white girl gets murdered by a probationer, and Parole and Probation gets all kind of horrible press. Forget the lack of mention of all the other victims before and after. Everyone thinks the system just broke, and it’s been limping for years. And now what’s the logic? Why, let the criminals out of prison earlier. It’s as plain as all that. So simple.

All we have to do is give them a program in their short prison sentence, and talk them out of being criminals. Now they are safe for release, I guess. Double bunking? Sure, why not. We are so short handed now it's ridiculous, give us more inmates. Maybe we'll find some good ones, and we can just put in them in charge.

By the way, AMEN to clearing out Death Row.

Re: Lawmakers consider prison problems

WayneUber — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:38:49 -0500

This is a perfect example of the General Assembly ignoring the source of the problem and failing to address it. Recidivism excluded there's no mention here of investments in crime prevention. The supply of prison beds (or lack of it) is not the problem. It is the demand for prison beds that needs to be addressed, not with more lenient sentencing but real reductions in overall crime. This all goes without saying that at least 100 beds could be made available if death row inmates that have exhausted their appeals were executed in the next year too.

Re: The Tobacco Growers Caucus

cdtew — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:42:06 -0500

Another wrench in this problem...how much Medicaid money does the state allocate to each county. Here's a map:

http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/dma/2007report/2007tables.pdf (Go to p.13)

I imagine that has something to do with being able to force cooperation in voting for a smoking ban, even though a representative might represent a "Grower" district.

Now I'm just getting academic, and I have no substantive basis at all to claim such muscling is going on.

Re: The Tobacco Growers Caucus

tecolote — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:04:51 -0500

Sorry, R.T.
I just couldn't resist. At least it demonstrates
readership!

Re: The Tobacco Growers Caucus

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:10:57 -0500

Welcome to the Dome copy desk.

— RTB

Re: The Tobacco Growers Caucus

tecolote — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:09:37 -0500

Re::Sager and Stewart was not in the House at the time."

" . . . were not in the House at the time." ??

Re: Nine minutes

Isaac136 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:40:39 -0400

This was a done deal. The members know exactly what it's about, they don't give a rat's behind about the safety issue, they're going to see a lot of revenue in the coastal communities and they're going to have some fat coffers for their campaigns.

Re: Nine minutes

j1c2kp — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:25:38 -0400

I completely agree with Michael Thompson. And now it's the honorable Marc Basnights turn to follow the money.

Re: Nine minutes

mickey — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:23:00 -0400

Rep. Arthur Williams says "the people have spoken out" on this override of Easley's veto. Which "the people" is he talking about? I am no fan of Mike Easley, but I gotta agree with him on this one. Allowing wide boats to be pulled all over the secondary roads of this state, during the day and/or night, is ludicrous. The Highway Patrol has spoken out against it, and I can't see any good reason to allow it.

This is simply one more example of special-interest legislation winning out in our state Capitol....one more example of "business as usual" in Raleigh. The lawmakers hide behind this "the people have spoken" crap every time. Most of "the people" in this state have no clue what goes on in the legislature, and just accept whatever comes down the pike.

Michael Thompson
Burgaw, NC

Re: If it isn't pandering, what is it?

j1c2kp — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:16:02 -0400

Usually it's whatever Marc wants, Marc gets. Can't wait to see if he gets his way again.

If it isn't pandering, what is it?

Isaac136 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:10:15 -0400

We can't let something like human safety interfere with a fat cat's hobbies. And god forbid they get a ticket -- like they were some ordinary schmuck or something. Boy there's got to be a LOT of money pouring in from a set of rich jerks to a set of political jerks.

I guess they figure the state highway patrol just opposed it for the heck of it. What do they know about highway safety anyway? Everyone knows that when you're pulling something on a trailer, the trailer maintains a perfectly straight line down the road and that every driver will drive that perfect line, right?

Re: Basnight: We should override veto

jimlamb — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:58:03 -0400

So, you think it's perfectly safe to let a 9.5-foot vehicle travel up a winding 9-foot wide road? Even if this legislation was passed, it seems to me that the Highway Patrol could still stop and ticket these drivers for crossing the centerline. This sure seems like pandering to wealthy boat owners who don't want to get stopped on their way to a fishing tournament. Does anyone really need a recreational "fishing" boat that size?

The fact that the House and Senate approved this by such a wide margin has little to do with the "will of the people." It tells me that they couldn't care less about the people unless it's the people with the money and the oversized watercraft. I'll be voting against all of the incumbents for my district come election time.