Thursday Open Line – Home in Henderson

Today won’t be so bad, with a projected high of around 52, but yesterday… cold. A few steps away from our office sits Emrose Park, an area between the downtown buildings that even on 20 degree weather days fills with workers from the local businesses taking a break. Yesterday, the focal piece running water fountain was actually frozen with a pretty cool design. Check our pics.

Defying Republican lawmakers, President Barack Obama on Wednesday barreled by the Senate and installed a national consumer watchdog on his own, provoking GOP threats of a constitutional showdown in the courts. Setting a fierce tone in the election-year fight for middle-class voters, Obama said: “I refuse to take `no’ for an answer. Obama named Richard Cordray, a respected former attorney general of Ohio, to be the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, after giving up on hopes for a confirmation vote in the Senate. The appointment means the agency is able to oversee a vast swath of lending companies and others accused at times of preying on consumers with shady practices.

There’s a lot of politics going on with this appointment. The AP has a good article on the different sides, read it here. I posted a press release from the white house in our news articles today as well.

In a similar move in our own North Carolina House GOP held a after midnight session this morning, with local representative Jim Crawford pointed out as one of 2 democrats that broke party lines and voted along with Republicans to override a Perdue veto aimed at weakening the state’s largest teachers association. The 1:12am vote means teachers who belong to the N.C. Association of Educators can no longer have their NCAE dues deducted automatically from their paychecks.

In a statement issued at 1:16 a.m., Perdue called the lawmakers actions unconstitutional. “The Republicans in the General Assembly didn’t have the votes to get what they wanted legally,” she said. “So, in the dark of night, they engaged in an unprecedented, unconstitutional power grab. I am saddened for the people of North Carolina that the Republicans abused their power and chose this destructive path.”

At a news conference that ended just before 2 a.m., Democrats and the teachers group called it retribution for attacks against the GOP budget that cut education funding. Those who spoke called the session vindictive and insane. Republicans said the override would abolish a special provision for a special interest. Speaking to reporters after the session, House Speaker Thom Tillis maintained the legislature was transparent and lawmakers and the public should have known this bill could come before the House, even though it was not noticed.

Welcome to the Thursday Open Lines!

CategoriesOpen Lines

2 Comments

Phil Hart January 5, 2012 at 9:40 am

I added an additional item to the open line about a very early morning vote at the NC House this morning affecting teachers.
prudence January 5, 2012 at 3:10 pm

Leon Panetta is going along with Obama in cutting the US Defense budget. Cut the foreign country help–However, . This is not the time to to leave ourselves open for attack.

In my opinion everyone in the White House needs to reread or in some cases–read it (Constitution) for the first time.

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