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John, you are 100% correct. Satan is hard at work. This is not only a flesh and blood battle but also a spiritual battle.

Commented: Wednesday, June 29th, 2022 @ 6:00 pm By: Countrygirl1411

No longer the failing public education system, now, it is the failed public education industry, always about the money and how to better waste it on so much, including terrible policy and pathetic oversight.

The only hope to save the public education at this point is School Choice with the public's money following the public's school age children.

Commented: Wednesday, June 29th, 2022 @ 10:45 am By: Stan Deatherage

There is unquestionally too much power in the hands of the RINO leadership in the NC legislature. The core cause is not the money, it is the ability of the Speaker to succeed himself in the House, and the end of divided power in the Senate. Prior to 1989, Senate powers were divided between the Lieutenant Governor and the Senate President, so that power could not be concentrated either place. Most of the Lt. Governor's powers came through Senate rules and when Republican Jim Gardner was elected to that office in 1988, the Democrats stripped his powers and concentrated them in the Senate President. The power arrangement you describe is the Basnight system, which was created by that concentration of power

In the House, the brake on concentration of power was the very longstanding tradition of one term speakers which began in the 19th century. That tradition was broken by Carl Stewart running for a second term in 1979 because he wanted to run for statewide office as incumbent House Speaker in 1980. His successor, Liston Ramsey decided he wanted to be Speaker for life.

Regretably, Republican leaders in both house of the legislature picked up the bad power habits of the Democrats.

The solution is simply, but probably difficult to obtain. Amend the state Constitution to require one term Speakers and restore the split of power in the Senate. The old system worked great, but based on legislative rules and on tradition was too easy to overturn.

Commented: Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 @ 10:30 am By: Conservative Voter

These "hospital systems" could best be called "medical conglomerates" or "medical oligopolies" because they have bought up most of the doctors offices in their areas, so that they control health care locally. They thus control pricing and can and do gouge patients. Anti-trust laws badly need to be applied to these combinations that border on being medical monopolies withing their areas. It is appalling to read that the guy who will soon be our state senator, Jim Perry, got rich helping hospitals get control of the doctors offices in their area.

Commented: Monday, June 27th, 2022 @ 7:25 am By: Concerned Taxpayer