Hey, Pass The Gravy… #WCPSS #NCed

Posted on October 20, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

MoreWithFourNotOneCentBackWBOC14The Wake County Board of Commissioners released more than $44 million in additional funding to the Wake County School Board in order to boost teacher pay.

Mind you, Wake County’s average supplemental pay before this was already third in the state at $5,994. Chapel Hill/Carborro was number one at $6,892 and Charlotte-Mecklenburg second at $6,632.

While the School Board was handing out increases to teachers, they passed the gravy to Superintendent Merrill.

Key bits from News and Observer:

Wake County Superintendent Jim Merrill could receive $12,397 in salary increases and bonuses this year – about a 4.5-percent increase over his current compensation.

The Wake County school board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a $6,302 salary increase and a $6,095 performance bonus for Merrill based on his work during the 2014-15 school year. Merrill, 64, would also get his contact extended a year, through June 2019.

[…]

“He’s done a good job,” school board Chairwoman Christine Kushner said. “We have not adjusted his salary since he arrived and it’s been more than two years.”

A whole two years.  How was he ever surviving on $275,000 a year?

The increase would raise Merrill’s base salary from $275,000 a year to $281,302, making him one of the state’s highest-paid superintendents. Alamance-Burlington Superintendent Bill Harrison gets $330,000 a year in compensation split between a $245,000 base salary and $85,000 provided by local groups.

Don’t forget Orange county’s Del Burns with his temporary $300k contract!

Let’s look at Supt. Merrill’s contract, shall we?

State Salary $116,000 + Local Salary $159,000 = $275,000 base.
Perks include a board owned car for out of district travel, $900 a month in travel expenses, 96 hours of extra vacation, security for his family, life insurance and up to 12 months of severance pay.

Per the language in the contract, the WCPSS Board will have to make sure any pay increases are updated in writing.

The board will not have to put other items in writing though.

According to the News and Observer, the Wake School Board gave him the extra cash as ‘performance’ based pay but won’t tell the public what ‘performance goals’ he met:

Since no raise was given last year, Merrill’s contract was modified to say he’d be eligible in future years to receive performance-based compensation of as much as 5 percent of his salary. Up to 2.5 percent could be paid as a salary increase and up to 2.5 percent as a bonus.

Merrill’s increase was based on his performance on goals set by the board. School attorneys said the list of Merrill’s goals is not a public record and declined to release them.

Transparency with your tax dollars.

*This article was edited to note Del Burns’ contract was temporary.

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Posted in EDUCATION, Wake County School Board | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Duncan Scores Helms Endorsement In #NC02 Race

Posted on October 19, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Jim Duncan has scored an endorsement from Jesse Helms in the North Carolina second congressional district race. Duncan is one of three Republicans challenging incumbent Renee Ellmers.

Press release:

Jim Duncan

Helms Endorses Jim Duncan for Congress

For Immediate Release – Oct. 19, 2015
Contact: Sean Moser – (919) 410-9802


Cary, NC- Conservative Candidate Jim Duncan of North Carolina announced today the endorsement of Nancy Helms, daughter of the late U.S. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina.

“Today, I am proud to make my announcement public that I am endorsing Jim Duncan for Congress,” Nancy Helms said. “The second district of North Carolina is a special place for me and my family. My father had such respect for our proud military members and veterans that live there, as well as our farmers, and many others. Our nation needs principled, honest and humble leaders now more than ever. I believe Jim Duncan has the conservative principles and positive character traits needed to represent us in Congress. Please join me in supporting Jim Duncan for Congress.”

“Nancy Helms’ endorsement is a true honor” said Duncan. “Nancy has dedicated a large portion of her life to keeping the truth and integrity of her father’s legacy alive. I want to thank Nancy for her dedication to North Carolina’s citizens, and for fostering free enterprise and protecting traditional American values. I will do my very best to honor Jesse Helms’ conservative legacy.”

Jesse Helms was a pivotal leader in the conservative movement and regarded as one of the most influential conservative politicians of the post-1960s era. His support was crucial to Ronald Regan’s North Carolina primary victory in 1976 and paved the way for Reagan’s presidential election in 1980.

Jim Duncan has served as a board member on the Jesse Helms foundation since 2013 and has been a passionate supporter of Helms’ legacy.

To view the Helms endorsement letter please click Here

 

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VIDEO: Dr. Atkinson Questioned on Common Core, Grant Money – #StuffAtkinsonSays

Posted on October 19, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Dr. Atkinson, who is currently the longest serving state K-12 educrat, has decided to run for re-election again.

CC June False WitnessIn the past, Dr. Atkinson has accused parents and citizens opposing Common Core as “bearing false witness“. In the coming  months, we’ll see just who is really bearing said “false witness”.

So, in an effort to make sure the people of North Carolina know what they are getting, this video is one of many to come and will be an ongoing series throughout the 2016 election cycle.

Keep an eye out for #StuffAtkinsonSays.

VIDEO:
Testimony from NC Superintendent Atkinson on Race To The Top during the 2013 NC General Assembly Legislative Research Committee meeting.

 


Related links:

2009 Hunt Symposium featuring Arne Duncan and Race To The Top: http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/0910GESREPORT.pdf

Costs of Common Core for NC:
http://www.ncicl.org/article/891

Jan. 12 2010 Hunt Institute Report:
http://www.hunt-institute.org/resources/2010/01/7th-annual-nclr-report/

About that Race To The Top Money:
http://stopcommoncorenc.org/about-that-nc-race-to-the-top-money/

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, ELECTIONS, June Atkinson | Tagged | 2 Comments

#DM7 Article: First Democrat Debate Featured Yelling, Socialism and ‘Free Stuff’

Posted on October 18, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

This is a repost of my weekly column at Da Tech Guy:

First Democrat Debate Featured Yelling, Socialism and ‘Free Stuff’

By A.P. Dillon

This past Tuesday was the first 2016 Democrat Candidate debate. It was held on CNN and was conveniently moderated by Clinton Global Initiative member, Anderson Cooper. Clinton and Sanders had the most talking time. Gee.

To summarize the debate, there was a lot of yelling, socialism, talk of ‘free stuff‘ and more yelling.  One could easily say the big take away is that America’s Democrat party is now openly socialist.

Most of the country might not know that, however.

The ratings for the debate are being billed as the ‘highest in Democrat history’ with preliminary numbers showing that only 11% of Americans tuned in. Based on that math, this debate looks to garner around half of the viewership for the first GOP debate.

For an alleged ‘substantive debate’, education and Common Core were basically ignored. Perhaps that is because all of the Democrat candidates back Common Core and would rather Jeb Bush take that toxic heat.

There was also quite a bit of complaining about the economy, the subtext of which was a hilariously sad assault on the failed policies of Barack Obama. Moreover, a bunch of rich, old white folks up on stage tried to convince us that they know what is best for our lives and, specifically, our money.

The field was old, white and weak, which lent itself to making Hillary Clinton look appealing in the way that the last sandwich on a heavily picked over buffet might. The majority of applause points came from rhetoric that is more applicable to the 2008 election cycle than this one.

A little recap.

Sanders: Went full socialist. You never go full socialist.
I kept waiting for him to yell, ‘MIC CHECK!” before each of his responses.

Sucked up to Hillary by providing cover on her email scandal, yelling “I think the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.”   Um, Bernie? According to Google, they’re not sick of it.

Every answer he gave inevitably circled back to climate change and some version of  ‘the common good’. You know who else was all about the ‘common good‘?

Hillary: ‘I’m a woman. That’s all the qualification I need.’
Favorite quote of the night: “I never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone.”  Err, what?
Also, ‘nothing is my fault’ and ‘I’ll make an arch-villain out of the NRA’. Can’t wait to see her poll numbers slide, but that will be due to the vast right-wing conspiracy.
She’ll likely be sending Anderson Cooper a fruit basket for letting her get out of answering some of the questions posed to her.  Bernie will get a basket too.

O’Malley: Hulk smash.
Highlights included ‘Baltimore was awesome when I was there’ and NRA is eeeeeevil!  Except when he gets cash from them.

Chaffee: Opening, middle and closing were all awkward as you can get. I imagined Chaffee asking himself, ‘Alright, whose arm is up my backside making my mouth move?’
Key bits out of Chaffee included, “I have no scandals” and I have no idea why I voted the way I did.  Also, he hasn’t changed on any issues, but party hopped anyway. What a hot mess.

Webb: The only one to say ‘All Lives Matter‘ and the only candidate who came across as reasonably rational on most issues. Also the only candidate to nail the ‘biggest current threat’ question by including cyber attacks. This of course means that you can hit Twitter to see the liberal feeding frenzy taking place on his political corpse.

Winner: Socialism.
Loser: The American People.

To round out the night, a response to Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

 

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
DM7 small LL1885A.P. Dillon resides in the Triangle area of North Carolina and is the founder of LadyLiberty1885.com.
Her current and past writing can also be found at IJ Review, StopCommonCoreNC.org, Heartland.org and Watchdog Wire NC.
Catch her on Twitter: @LadyLiberty1885

 

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Heartland Article: House Committee Passes Crackdown on ‘Operation Choke Point’

Posted on October 18, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

heartland iconMy article that follows first appeared at Heartland Fiscal Times on October 14th.

House Committee Passes Crackdown on ‘Operation Choke Point’

The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee approved a bill to prevent government agencies from using regulatory powers to force businesses in disfavored industries, such as adult entertainment or firearm sales, to stop doing business.

The Financial Institution Customer Protection Act of 2015, sponsored by   Rep. Blain Luetkemeyer (R-MO), “prohibits a federal banking agency from formally or informally suggesting, requesting, or ordering a depository institution to terminate … specific customer account” without good reason, and it excludes “reputation risk” as a reason.

Operation Choke Point (OCP) is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) initiative, first disclosed in 2013, to investigate banks doing business with merchants selling products such as firearms or tobacco. OCP was executed by auditors from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). FDIC pressured banks to drop companies in certain industries as clients.

‘Good First Step’

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, says Luetkemeyer’s bill is a good start, but more safeguards are needed.

“It’s a good first step as far as what the banks are doing, but it really needs to encompass the DOJ, because this is really happening because of what the Department of Justice is doing with Operation Choke Point,” Williams said. “And here’s the problem: … Operation Choke Point today is being used for services that this administration doesn’t like. Whether it’s firearms sales, fireworks, lottery sales, payday lending, … these sort of things.”

‘Bastardization’ of Process

Todd Zywicki, a professor of law at George Mason University, says OCP is a “bastardization” of normal regulatory procedures.

“Here’s the interesting thing about Operation Choke Point: It’s a bastardization of something that is arguably okay or all right,” Zywicki said. “If a bank is … knowingly participating in a scheme of fraud or money-laundering or something like that, the authorities have [customarily] basically said to the bank, ‘Look, you can’t do that.’

“That’s what they’ve tried to dress this [Operation Choke Point] up as,” Zywicki said.

Zywicki says the government is using financial rules as political tools.

“They’re weaponizing private banks, … that is what they are doing here,” Zywicki said. “It’s not just the government, but what they are doing is strong-arming the banks and basically turning the banks into arms of the federal government to police private actors that they don’t like.”

Andrea Dillon (thell1885@gmail.com) writes from Holly Springs, North Carolina.

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Government | 1 Comment

Cruz Handily Wins NC Tea Party Consitutional Caucus Vote

Posted on October 18, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

 

Candidates who received votes in descending order via teacaucus.org:

  1. Cruz – 391 (50.13%)
  2. Carson – 328 (42.04%)
  3. Trump – 31 (3.97%)
  4. Paul – 18 (2.31%)
  5. Fiorina – 6 (.77%)
  6. Rubio – 4 (.51%)
  7. Jindal – 2 (.26%)

There were nine who abstained from voting.

No votes for Bush, Kasich, Walker, Christie, Graham, Santorum, Pataki or Gilmore.

Hey, does anyone know (or care) if Jim Gilmore even still in it? I see you out there… Googling  ‘Jim Gilmore’ now.

No Huckabee in the list either and he drew between 8-10,000 people to Raleigh that same day for a “Stand With God” rally.

IMG_2651It would seem the NC Tea party has chosen their man and it’s Senator  Ted Cruz.

I’m better than OK with that.

 

 

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Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), ELECTIONS | Tagged | 9 Comments