roy cooper

to defend marriage discrimination in North Carolina. What a sad way to start the year, Roy.

PS Take me off your fundraising list.

Duane Deaver (finally) gets his walking papers:

Duane Deaver, the SBI agent and analyst who has been the public face of problems at the State Bureau of Investigation, has been fired.

Deaver's attorneys called the firing "pathetic" and "political."

How odd. That's exactly how I would describe a forensic investigator who knowingly withheld evidence that could have kept an innocent man from wasting away in prison for 16 years.

Sins of omission have consequences:

Evidence was mounting that incomplete and misleading lab reports were helping send the wrong people to prison - and letting the real criminals go free to commit other crimes.

And there's good reason the audit by Swecker and former FBI manager Michael Wolf sent ripples throughout North Carolina's criminal justice system: It showed that the crime lab's failures to conduct tests or inform court officials of blood test results that might help the defendant may have involved as many as 229 cases.

Those lab techs should be held partially responsible for any crimes committed by those who dodged justice thanks to faulty lab reports. And they should have to pay some sort of restitution to the wrongly convicted.

The Greensboro News & Record slips into histrionics this morning, blaring this headline over a tedious column by Doug Clark: Cooper owes an answer on lawsuit question.

Bullshit. The push by Republican government haters for the Attorney General to join their secessionist movement is North Carolina politics at its toxic worst. Cooper has no obligation whatsoever to give those involved the time of day, much less a considered opinion. He "owes" nobody an answer. Clark, on the other hand, owes his readers an apology for fanning the flames of partisan shenanigans.

Kudos go to Rep. Pricey Harrison for leading the charge and to the 19 other legislators who asked for an investigation. From this morning AP wire it is clear that the Attorney General is pursuing the investigation.

Blue Cross calls, mailers get lawmakers' notice

The state Attorney General's office confirmed Tuesday it was investigating North Carolina's largest health insurer for prerecorded calls that started late last month. Based on a preliminary review, some calls linked to the company appear to have violated the law, according to a letter from a state attorney.

Looks like the field is wide open again.
______________________________

Note: Corndogg already wrote about this.

"Shot through the heart
And you're to blame.
You give (North Carolina 2010 Democratic Senate chances)
A Bad Name."

Alas, Dome breaks the story that some of us have been hearing/hoping was not true for some time. Roy Cooper will not run for Richard Burr's Senate seat in 2010.

While it is great to retain the powerful convictions and ideas of Mr. Cooper full time here in North Carolina, many Democrats across the state will mourn the decision of a man many felt was the perfect choice to defeat Burr. A tough, justice minded Democrat, with moderate positions that play well in all corners of the state vs. a bank looting, disabled war veteran stalling, crypto-conservative has been ripe for an upset.

However, this should not leave us here at BlueNC, or anyone else eyeballing this race, disheartened. There is still a strong bench of contenders from all over North Carolina and a powerful base of support, anxious and capable enough to oust Burr from his useless seat.

Hey, Roy! Did you think we wouldn't notice? Did you think we would be able to ignore President Barack Obama's shout out? I think somebody was in Washington on business. I know you're a big Tar Heel fan and White House visits don't happen every day, but you're a busy man. There was something going on in Washington you're not telling us.

Come on, Roy. Out with it.

From the White House transcript of the Tar Heel's visit with the President:

THE PRESIDENT: Hello. (Applause.) Well, thank you, everybody. Please have a seat. We're not in the Dean Dome here, you don't need to stay standing the whole time. (Laughter.)

If it weren't so sad it would be funny. I don't know who this Guarino person is, but when a friend sent me a link to this I had to point out just how easy it could be to win in November 2010 if this guy has anything to do with Burr's strategy. His proposal? Attack Roy Cooper on the Eve Carson Murder.

First, we need to recall the murder of Eve Carson, the UNC student leader, by a probation violator. The News and Observer in Raleigh subsequently did a series that exposed the utter failure of the North Carolina probation system.

:::