North Carolina joins the Mob!

Yes, Crime Boss Mike Easley got his way last night... of course it required some underhanded tactics. First, two Senate lottery opponents were skillfully culled out of the chamber by sending the Senate home and then recalling it when the two members were unable to return.

And those were the two votes the pro-crime element had to get so that vice-crime boss Beverly Perdue could cast a tie-breaking vote for the State to join the Mob.

In addition, the Senate suspended it's own rules requiring two votes on separate days - short circuiting the deliberative process.

Personally, I will be boycotting any business that sells lottery tickets in this state - I encourage you to join me. It's probably a meaningless gesture, but I will not participate in stealing money from my kid's school.

What? You thought the lottery would fund schools? It's just not true. In every state that has passed a lottery to fund schools, funding for schools has decreased.

How does that happen? Once there's a dedicated pot of money for the schools, legistators have no qualms about cutting general funds for the schools. Before you know it, only the lottery will be funding the schools and that's less than they're getting now.

And what about the poor kids whose dad gambles away their supper money. That dad is the main target of the lottery. Don't get me started!

Update: Here are the pro-crime NC Senators who voted for the lottery. If your Senator is listed here, please vote against him in the next election: Atwater; Basnight; Berger, D.; Boseman; Dalton; Dannelly; Dorsett; Garrou; Graham; Hagan; Holloman; Hoyle; Jenkins; Kerr; Lucas; Malone; Purcell; Rand; Shaw; Snow; Soles; Swindell; Thomas; Weinstein