This is a brilliant observation. Seriously. From Common Sense.
Newspapers all over the state this morning had above-the-fold pictures of jubilant local lottery winners. With scratch-off tickets going on sale yesterday for the first time in N.C. history, state-sponsored gambling was the topic of statewide conversation.
Where were the pictures of people losing the lottery? Given the odds, they should have been much easier to find than the winners. For those who believe that the media only reports the bad news, the lottery is a glaring exception. And that’s unfortunate, because there are only two real winners of a state lottery: the out-of-state mega-corporation that runs the games, and the precious few lucky stiffs who defy fortune and win big.
Everyone else loses. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, a player who wants to win ten dollars in the Tic Tac Toe scratch-off game would have to spend an average of $112 on the game to do so.
Apparently congressional staffers have been in the habit of changing Wikipedia entries to favor their bosses. Looking at Republican Congressmen Charles Taylor's page, it is clear that his staffers have done some prettying up of the man. For instance,
During his eight terms as the representative of North Carolina's 11th district, Taylor has worked to reverse a trend of job losses to the area. Taylor has concentrated on working towards a highly educated workforce and a thriving technology sector in the district.
You think I'm kidding, right? I wish I were. This just in from news reports flying around the internets, courtesy of good ol' mountain boys right here in No' Cackalacky.
At least six men came to western North Carolina, some from as far away as South America, to have their genitals mutilated in what police described Friday as a sadomasochistic "dungeon." Three men have been charged with illegal castration in the case, Haywood County Sheriff Tom Alexander and District Attorney Michael Bonfoey said. The sheriff and prosecutor said the victims were willing participants in the procedures.
With conservatives always clamoring over being overtaxed by the state, including three of the Civitas Foundation's seven goals for this year being elimination of one tax or another, it is always important to take a deep breath of reality. As the Triangle Business Journal reports today, North Carolina is 25th in the nation in how much tax they charge residents:
North Carolinians paid $2,146.68 per capita in state taxes last year, enough to earn the state a 25th ranking among all 50 states. The state ranked 25th in 2004 as well.
Congressional candidate Heath Shuler Thursday toured the Industrial Opportunities Inc. (IOI) manufacturing plant in Andrews and spoke about the need to expand manufacturing opportunities in western North Carolina.
Shuler, a Democrat running against incumbent Republican Charles Taylor for North Carolina's 11th District, spent Thursday visiting different sites in Cherokee County. Besides IOI, he went to many area restaurants, Murphy Medical Center and attended the Appalachian Homebuilders Association meeting.
"There aren't many of us left in town," IOI representative Dennis Myers said of manufacturing plants. "Most of the sewing has gone south."
Despite the fact that Tim Dunn quit campaigning for Congress in the 8th district and endorsed his opponent, Larry Kissell, his name will appear on the ballot in May's primary. This is due to the fact that North Carolina law does not allow qualified candidates to quit a race. Congressional Quarterly detailed the problem:
State election law dictates that candidates who have filed and qualified to run cannot remove their names from the primary ballot once the filing deadline passes. That occurred on Feb. 28.
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