The Generals Brigades organizers say they can't pay the taxpayers the $200,000 they admitted they owe. If you believe that, I've got some oceanfront property in Arizona I'd like to sell you.
And why do they say they can't pay? They failed to get enough investors, and whose fault was that? They say it was the News & Record's. Sound familiar? Does Project Homestead ring a bell?
Take the taxpayers' money, play with it, lose it with no payback and no accountability; but it is the newspaper's fault. Yeah, right.
Ward Bowman
Greensboro
Comments (3)
north carolina's citizens, according to polls, do indeed support a lottery. democracy equates with having its citizens the opportunity to vote to accept or reject it.
no one has the right to deny any citizen from purchasing a lottery ticket whether they be "rich" or "poor"! can you imagine a society that dictates who can buy what and where and to justify it! an elitist's view denigrates the rights of citizens it "pretends" to protect.
Posted by john marlin | April 13, 2005 11:47 AM
The U.S. isn't a democracy. It's a republic.
Posted by mr t | April 13, 2005 2:02 PM
Mr. t, According to what I found on the internet you and Mr. Marlin are both right. I was confused about the difference between a democracy and a republic when Mr. Elledge corrected me for stating our country was a democracy. I had intended to look it up then but you know what they say about intentions. Anyway when this came up again it reminded me to educate myself about the differences between republic and democracy. Following are excerts from a complete (and very long) explanation.
"Democracies and republics overlap. They are not opposites. Democracy means rule of the people. The two most common forms of democracy are direct democracy and representative democracy. In direct democracy everyone takes part in making a decision, as in a town meeting or a referendum. The other, better known form of democracy is a representative democracy. People elect representative to make decisions or laws. A representative democracy is a kind of republic.
What distinguishes a republic is that it has an elected government. Representative democracies are, therefor, a kind of republic. Beginning with the Constitution's adoption, America has been a Republic.The dominant trend over the last two centuries has been to make it into a democracy as well, a representative democracy, also know as a democratic republic. But the main Amendment that tipped the scales from the national government of the United States being a mere republic to being a true representative democracy was the often-overlooked Seventeenth Amendment, which took effect in 1913. Since 1913 the U.S. Senate has been elected directly by the voters, rather than being appointed by the state legislatures. That makes the national government democratic in form, as well as being a republic."
Posted by Yvonne | April 13, 2005 8:05 PM