1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,480 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,640 go to dpeakclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free, write to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,679 smartphone or tablet, and again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:33,960 your support. Good news, the Paul to Prof pipeline has 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,399 been resurrected for old Roy, our good friend Ray, former 11 00:00:38,439 --> 00:00:43,679 Governor Roy Cooper, benefiting from what I thought was maybe 12 00:00:43,679 --> 00:00:47,600 now a defunct Paul to Prof pipeline, But no, no, 13 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,320 it is still alive. Man. What would we and by 14 00:00:52,359 --> 00:00:57,000 we I mean Democrat lawmakers? What would they do without 15 00:00:57,039 --> 00:01:00,280 the pipeline? They might have to fend for themselves helves 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,520 in the private sector for a couple of years while 17 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:09,959 plotting their next run for public service. That's right, Former 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:15,159 Governor Roy Cooper is taking a teaching role at Harvard University. 19 00:01:16,359 --> 00:01:23,319 He told the McClatchy Newspapers exclusively quite the get. The 20 00:01:23,359 --> 00:01:27,359 position will take Cooper away from North Carolina for eight 21 00:01:27,599 --> 00:01:33,239 whole weeks. As speculation continues to grow that Cooper, a Democrat, 22 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:38,359 may challenge Senator Tom Tillis, a Republican, for his congressional seat. 23 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,719 Is well, it's a well it is Congress, but it's 24 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:46,280 a he's a senator. But don't worry, don't worry. The 25 00:01:46,359 --> 00:01:52,400 teaching gig, the eight week teaching gig, will not interfere 26 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,359 with In fact, it'll probably help promote his run for senate. 27 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,120 He says in a written statement to McClatchy that a 28 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:05,560 run is still on the table. The Paul to profit pipeline, 29 00:02:06,159 --> 00:02:10,080 what are you talking about, Pete, What does that mean? Well, 30 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:16,759 it is the politician to professor pipeline. And while that 31 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,479 is what I call it, it is not technically just professorships. 32 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:27,680 These can be fellowships, these can be chairs of departments, 33 00:02:27,759 --> 00:02:34,319 these can be you know, visiting lecturer gigs. The key 34 00:02:35,039 --> 00:02:40,840 is that you pay these former office holders tons of money. 35 00:02:41,039 --> 00:02:44,319 That's really the key. And then they get to go 36 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,680 back to a college campus. They get to stand in 37 00:02:47,719 --> 00:02:52,759 front of a class of people who have paid you know, 38 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,400 hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars for the credentialing service. 39 00:02:57,479 --> 00:03:01,400 That is Harvard and listen to Roy Cooper drone on 40 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:07,159 about let's see the topic is the intersection of government 41 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:16,280 and public health. Fascinating man, that's gonna be a dynamic class. Oh. 42 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,800 As one who sat through virtually every single press conference 43 00:03:20,879 --> 00:03:26,479 that Roy Cooper did during COVID, I have pity on 44 00:03:26,599 --> 00:03:32,039 the students, my goodness. And I was chatting with my 45 00:03:32,159 --> 00:03:35,960 pal kcoday. He does the mornings up in Raleigh in 46 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:43,240 Greensboro on WTKK and WPTI and I joined him on Fridays, 47 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,439 and I was chatting with him about this topic, and 48 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:51,879 he pointed out, I hadn't even really considered it, but like, 49 00:03:52,159 --> 00:03:54,520 you don't need a lot of material if you're going 50 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,039 if you're Roy Cooper going up there, you really don't 51 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,439 need a lot of material because the pace at which 52 00:03:59,439 --> 00:04:03,479 he speaks is so slow that you could probably just 53 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,000 take one week's worth of curriculum and just drag it 54 00:04:07,039 --> 00:04:11,759 out for eight weeks. Again, my sympathies to the students, 55 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,360 but that's like, you know, work harder, not smarter kind 56 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,279 of a thing. Like all I have to do is 57 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,720 come up with I mean, how long are these lectures? 58 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:24,319 An hour? Maybe roughly an hour. So you just need 59 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,040 to come up with like what an hour a day, 60 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:33,199 five hours of what a normal you know, speaking person 61 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:37,040 would would get through in one week, and then you 62 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,160 just drag that out over eight weeks five hours worth 63 00:04:41,199 --> 00:04:43,360 of work. That's less than I do for show prep 64 00:04:43,399 --> 00:04:46,759 for a single show. So like, I think I could 65 00:04:46,759 --> 00:04:49,480 probably do it, and I bet I would. I bet 66 00:04:49,519 --> 00:04:53,800 that I would charge way less than Roy Cooper. Not 67 00:04:53,959 --> 00:04:56,879 to be fair, he's probably not charging Harvard. They probably 68 00:04:56,959 --> 00:05:00,319 just made an overture to him, much like they to 69 00:05:00,399 --> 00:05:04,480 his predecessor. No, no, no, not not Pat McCrory. He's 70 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,480 a Republican. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that 71 00:05:07,519 --> 00:05:12,360 the Paul to prof pipeline is not available to Republicans. 72 00:05:12,399 --> 00:05:15,240 Sorry about that. It is. It's just for our North 73 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:21,759 Carolina elected officials and sometimes their wives, sometimes their wives. 74 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:29,560 I forgot about Mary Easily. That's not I'm not saying 75 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,759 people are quick to wed. I'm saying Mary Easily. That's 76 00:05:33,759 --> 00:05:37,720 her name, and she was the or still is, I think, right, 77 00:05:37,759 --> 00:05:44,240 the the wife of former Governor Mike Easily. Now Mike Easily, 78 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,199 he was a he was a little bit radioactive, what 79 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:50,519 with all of the corruption and such, lost his law 80 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,319 license and everything when he was governor of North Carolina. 81 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,720 But no matter. You know, voters still put in a 82 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,680 Democrat after that by several decades of corruption that led 83 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,879 to many other Democrats going to prison, including Mecklenburgh's own 84 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,000 Jim Black, the former Speaker of the House, Meg Scott, Phipps, 85 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:14,040 Frank Balance. But I digress. So you had Mary easily, 86 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,519 she got a gig. Two you got to go back, 87 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,079 and I did. By the way, you got to go 88 00:06:21,199 --> 00:06:28,000 back to Jim Hunt. He served four terms as North 89 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,959 Carolina governor. Now you're not allowed to serve more than 90 00:06:30,959 --> 00:06:34,639 two consecutive terms, but Jim found a way around that. 91 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:41,079 His daughter's now the lieutenant governor, Rachel Hunt. Because you know, 92 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,360 democrats love a good dynasty, and so Jim Hunt. He 93 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:47,079 did two terms and then he was out of politics 94 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,120 for like four years or eight years, and then he 95 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,000 came back, came back and did another two terms, and 96 00:06:54,160 --> 00:07:00,519 after he was done, he created the j Adams B. 97 00:07:00,959 --> 00:07:07,639 Hunt Junior Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy. It's referred 98 00:07:07,639 --> 00:07:12,480 to as the Hunt Institute. It is, according to Influence Watch, 99 00:07:13,399 --> 00:07:18,920 a left of center education advocacy organization based in Durham, 100 00:07:18,959 --> 00:07:22,000 Founded in two thousand and one by former North Carolina 101 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,079 Governor Jim Hunt. The organization was an instrumental force in 102 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:32,000 the creation of federal government directed common Core education standards. 103 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,759 So with a record like that, who wouldn't trust him 104 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,319 to advise on all sorts of other educational reforms? Right? Hmmm. 105 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,360 Since two thousand and two, the Hunt Institute has received 106 00:07:44,399 --> 00:07:48,600 at least seventeen million dollars from left of center Bill 107 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:53,639 and Melinda Gates Foundation. That is just one of their funders. 108 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,680 It was founded in two thousand and I know what 109 00:07:57,759 --> 00:07:59,759 you're gonna say, Pete, this is just an institute. What's 110 00:07:59,759 --> 00:08:02,120 the big deal? I will get to it. Founded in 111 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,360 two thousand and one. It's an education focused advocacy organization. 112 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,959 And here you go. It was an affiliate of the 113 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:14,000 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill from two thousand and 114 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:19,360 eight through twenty fifteen, and in twenty fifteen, the Republican 115 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:26,360 led state legislature ended the institute's state funding. Right, this 116 00:08:26,439 --> 00:08:30,800 is the pipeline. This is the jobs program for out 117 00:08:30,839 --> 00:08:36,320 of work Democrat elected officials. This is also the same 118 00:08:36,399 --> 00:08:40,639 pipeline that you see with the Usaid scandal, and oh, 119 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,639 I should point out that is a scandal. That is 120 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:48,200 a scandal, and that's why you are seeing journalisming rule 121 00:08:48,279 --> 00:08:52,000 number two take hold, which is when the scandal is 122 00:08:52,039 --> 00:08:55,720 about Democrats, the story is not the scandal. The story 123 00:08:55,799 --> 00:09:01,519 is the Republican reaction to the scandal. Right. The corollary 124 00:09:01,519 --> 00:09:03,360 there is that if the scandal is about a Republican 125 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,559 then the story is the scandal, Like, you focus on 126 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,879 the Republican scandal, right, But if it's a Democrat scandal, 127 00:09:08,919 --> 00:09:11,080 then you focus on Republican reaction. Which is why there's 128 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,440 all this focus on Elon Musk and the doge dudes 129 00:09:14,879 --> 00:09:19,519 that are you know, go that descended onto the Usaid 130 00:09:19,639 --> 00:09:21,919 program and these they're going into these other departments and 131 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,279 they're just going in there with laptops and they're just 132 00:09:24,399 --> 00:09:26,559 pulling data. And then what are they doing. Are they 133 00:09:26,639 --> 00:09:29,399 hiding it from us? No? Are they like using it 134 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:35,399 to attack people online? No, they're just telling us. They're 135 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,519 going into these departments, they're pulling the grants, they're looking 136 00:09:38,519 --> 00:09:40,879 at the funding and they're saying, this is what's being funded. 137 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:47,320 And the outrage that American taxpayers have towards the funding 138 00:09:47,519 --> 00:09:51,559 priorities must be ignored because the stories that would be 139 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,559 about the scandal, so instead we get the Republican reaction 140 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,799 to the scandal. All right, if you're listening to this show, 141 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,399 you know I try to keep up with all sorts 142 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,440 of current events, and I know you do too, And 143 00:10:02,519 --> 00:10:05,960 you've probably heard me say get your news from multiple sources. 144 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,720 Why well, because it's how you detect media bias, which 145 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,639 is why I've been so impressed with ground News. It's 146 00:10:12,759 --> 00:10:16,200 an app, and it's a website and it combines news 147 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,159 from around the world in one place so you can 148 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,519 compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out 149 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:26,200 at check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put 150 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,159 the link in the podcast description too. I started using 151 00:10:29,159 --> 00:10:32,080 ground News a few months ago and more recently chose 152 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,080 to work with them as an affiliate because it lets 153 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,720 me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. 154 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,919 The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored 155 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,879 by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check 156 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,440 dot ground, dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link 157 00:10:48,519 --> 00:10:51,399 and you'll get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use 158 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,559 the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature 159 00:10:54,759 --> 00:10:57,559 your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it 160 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:00,720 also supports ground News as they make the media landscape 161 00:11:00,759 --> 00:11:04,399 more transparent. Just real quick, I got a message here 162 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,799 from Representative Dean Arp who there is a go fund 163 00:11:08,879 --> 00:11:14,200 Me now up to help Miss Esther rebuild after the 164 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:19,320 fire that engulfed her entire home. Dean Arp was on 165 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:24,360 the show on Wednesday, I think and yeah, because he 166 00:11:24,399 --> 00:11:28,159 talked about how he stopped to help her, he saved 167 00:11:28,159 --> 00:11:31,039 her life. Basically, she's wheelchair bound and saw the house 168 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,279 burning and he ran in there and got her out. 169 00:11:33,879 --> 00:11:35,960 But the house was a total loss. So there is 170 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,840 now a go fundme that has been launched, launched by 171 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:45,279 her family. They're trying to raise fifty thousand dollars help 172 00:11:45,519 --> 00:11:50,600 Esther rebuild after fire loss. That's the name of the 173 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:56,480 campaign put up by the Hayley family. Esther is the 174 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,360 oldest sister of the bunch, has outlived most of her siblings, 175 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,879 and she is battling cancer as well. She's wheelchair bound, 176 00:12:05,519 --> 00:12:09,080 but she is alive and she's in good spirits. They 177 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,200 took her to the hospital. So if you you know, 178 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,559 have a heart to help somebody, Miss Ester is a 179 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,759 probably a good candidate to help there. There's so if 180 00:12:17,759 --> 00:12:20,039 you go to go fund me and look for help 181 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:23,960 esther rebuild, you'll probably find it that way. I tweeted 182 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,240 it out also at Pete Calender on the Twitter machine. 183 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:33,440 So all right, Roy Cooper goes to Harvard, and Dennis 184 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,759 says in an email to Pete at Thepete calendershow dot com, 185 00:12:36,759 --> 00:12:39,960 if Cooper really wants to make a big splash teaching 186 00:12:40,039 --> 00:12:45,000 Harvard or teaching health at Harvard, he should bring that 187 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:49,159 whirlwind of a speaking personality, Mandy Cohen along with him. 188 00:12:49,639 --> 00:12:53,360 That should go over bigger than Jim and Tammy fay Baker. 189 00:12:53,639 --> 00:12:58,240 That's I don't know if the Harvard class would be 190 00:12:58,279 --> 00:13:05,240 able to withstand the dynamism of a Cooper Cohen, you know, 191 00:13:05,279 --> 00:13:10,919 a C and C production there like that would be ooh. 192 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:15,320 I mean, we were all just galvanized by their oratorical 193 00:13:15,399 --> 00:13:19,399 skills during the pandemic, So I don't know if the 194 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:21,519 kids would be able to I don't know if they'd 195 00:13:21,519 --> 00:13:24,399 be able to make it through there with that kind 196 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:29,159 of John says, do you think Professor Roy will use 197 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:32,600 that same irritating, condescending third grade teacher voice when he 198 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:36,159 lectures the students at Harvard that he always used during 199 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:42,799 his daily free hour infomercial COVID news conference. Yes, I do, John, Absolutely, 200 00:13:42,879 --> 00:13:45,000 He's going to talk to them like they are four 201 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,960 year olds. I don't think he knows any other way 202 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:55,039 to address a group of people. His press releases are, 203 00:13:56,759 --> 00:14:00,000 you know, biting and scathing when he's going after Republicans, 204 00:14:00,919 --> 00:14:02,879 But when you put him in front of a class 205 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:08,480 of you know, probably progressive minded people, he's going to 206 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,960 lecture them like they are children, which kind of makes 207 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,840 sense actually, But yeah, that's what I said. I have 208 00:14:14,919 --> 00:14:16,879 sympathy for the students. They're gonna have to sit there 209 00:14:16,879 --> 00:14:21,559 and listen to this. And I would be surprised if 210 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:26,360 he does not bring Mandy Cohen into the class. I 211 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:33,000 would be surprised if he doesn't do that, because, like 212 00:14:33,159 --> 00:14:37,120 she was the one that was there as you know, 213 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,600 trying to trying to tell all of us what was 214 00:14:40,639 --> 00:14:42,600 going on and what they were doing and everything. So 215 00:14:42,639 --> 00:14:44,279 he would always turn it over to her anyway, So 216 00:14:44,279 --> 00:14:46,080 why not just turn over your class to her too. 217 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:51,159 It just makes sense. But this is just the latest example. 218 00:14:51,919 --> 00:14:54,120 And by the way, it's an eight week class. It 219 00:14:54,159 --> 00:14:57,480 will not impede his ability to run for the US Senate, 220 00:14:57,919 --> 00:14:59,639 which we all expect him to do. We have all 221 00:14:59,639 --> 00:15:02,519 expect him to do it. The purpose of the gig 222 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:09,120 is to give him an income for a little while 223 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,320 so he will be able to tread water long enough 224 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,080 to get to his next run. Right, that's the point. 225 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:22,159 It's a scholarship program. He's on scholarship. Harvard gave him 226 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,919 a scholarship, and so he's going to go there. He's 227 00:15:25,919 --> 00:15:28,080 going to talk about how he locked everybody didn't know. 228 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:29,759 I'm kidding. He's going to go there and talk about 229 00:15:29,759 --> 00:15:33,279 how he got Medicaid expanded. Except he didn't actually get 230 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:38,080 Medicaid expanded. The Republican legislature did that. So I'm at 231 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,159 a loss to understand what exactly, Like, I can't wait 232 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:45,799 to see what his his his course curriculum is, Like, 233 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,519 what is it? I forget what they call it? The syllabus? 234 00:15:48,519 --> 00:15:50,679 There you go. I can't wait to see what the 235 00:15:50,679 --> 00:15:53,600 syllabus is gonna be. What is he going to cover? Right? 236 00:15:53,960 --> 00:16:01,159 What is the program description? So this goes way back 237 00:16:01,399 --> 00:16:04,879 for Democrat politicians. Jim Hunt did it with his Hunt Institute. 238 00:16:04,919 --> 00:16:07,559 He got a whole bunch of state government money, taxpayer 239 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,720 funds to run his little institute. And then, of course, 240 00:16:10,759 --> 00:16:12,480 you know, all the money pours in and when the 241 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,360 from these left wing groups, and I've got their their 242 00:16:15,399 --> 00:16:21,159 donor lists. Let's see here, we've got the chan Zuckerberg Initiative, 243 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,600 the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation. Babe. 244 00:16:25,799 --> 00:16:27,759 By the way, here ever, listen to NPR, You're going 245 00:16:27,799 --> 00:16:30,519 to know like all of these names because these same groups, 246 00:16:30,559 --> 00:16:35,840 these foundations fund NPR two. I mean, besides us, the 247 00:16:35,919 --> 00:16:40,120 Lumana Foundation, the Foundation for the Carolinas right here in Charlotte, 248 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,639 shout out to the Foundation for the Carolinas, Arnold Venture's, 249 00:16:43,759 --> 00:16:49,440 Robbins Foundation, the Bezos Family Act, Altria Aris Foundation, the 250 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:56,559 Belt Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Brady Foundation, Burrow's Welcome Fund, 251 00:16:56,759 --> 00:17:00,480 that's a big one, Charles and Lynn Schustermann Family Foundation, 252 00:17:01,399 --> 00:17:06,559 College Board, Dominion Energy, the Duke Endowment, Foundation for Child Development, 253 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,680 John Belkindowment, the Kresge Foundation, New Venture Fund. Oh, the 254 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,359 New Venture Fund, by the way, you know who that's 255 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,480 managed by Arabella Advisors, right, so that's who. That's the 256 00:17:17,559 --> 00:17:21,119 Hunt Institute, and they were getting tax dollars and Jim 257 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,759 Hunt drew a salary while he was over there. He's 258 00:17:24,759 --> 00:17:28,200 not the only one after Jim Hunt. It was Mike 259 00:17:28,279 --> 00:17:30,240 Easley as governor. But as I said, Mike had a 260 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,480 little bit of a taint to him, and so they 261 00:17:33,519 --> 00:17:36,599 tried to line up his wife, except now you had 262 00:17:36,599 --> 00:17:39,039 a Republican legislature, and it did not go well. Here's 263 00:17:39,079 --> 00:17:41,640 a great idea. How about making an escape to a 264 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,240 really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. Just 265 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:47,799 a quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of Asheville 266 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,720 is your connection. 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To all the local attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces, 277 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:27,319 air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi grills, outdoor tables, and 278 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:31,720 your own private covered porch. Choose from thirteen cabins, six cottages, 279 00:18:31,799 --> 00:18:35,759 two villas, and a great lodge with eleven king sized bedrooms. 280 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:39,119 Cabins of Ashville has the ideal spot for you for 281 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,960 any occasion, and they have pet friendly accommodations. Call or 282 00:18:43,039 --> 00:18:46,359 text eight two eight three six seven seventy sixty eight 283 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:48,799 or check out all there is to offer at Cabins 284 00:18:48,839 --> 00:18:52,359 Offashville dot com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. 285 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,039 So we went over Jim Hunt. Next in line was 286 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:01,359 Mike Easley. He was the next UH governor through the 287 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,240 Democrat machine that has basically controlled North Carolina politics for 288 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,200 a century and a half before Republicans were able to 289 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:13,480 break that grip in twenty ten. So Mike Easley then 290 00:19:13,559 --> 00:19:16,480 is governor. And as I mentioned, he had a bunch 291 00:19:16,519 --> 00:19:19,240 of problems. They took his law license for a while, 292 00:19:19,559 --> 00:19:23,400 suspended it. He had some you know, some problems because 293 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,359 he had this habit of like lining up a bunch 294 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:31,880 of stuff for his family members, you know, from Yeah, yeah, 295 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:37,839 there some scandals involved with that. So anyway, so North 296 00:19:37,839 --> 00:19:46,079 Carolina State University they gave Mike Easley's wife a big 297 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:51,119 fat contract because he was a little, you know, sketchy. 298 00:19:52,799 --> 00:19:56,880 And this goes back to two thousand and nine. Okay, 299 00:19:57,319 --> 00:20:02,000 Mary Easley, the wife of former Demmocrat governor Mike Easley, 300 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,720 got fired from her position at North Carolina State University 301 00:20:05,759 --> 00:20:09,960 as the controversy over her hiring and promotion continued to swirl, 302 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:14,400 with a federal investigation and the resignation of three top 303 00:20:14,599 --> 00:20:19,359 university officials. Okay, so this one took out three NC 304 00:20:19,599 --> 00:20:24,000 state leaders. Newly released email messages indicate that the former 305 00:20:24,039 --> 00:20:28,440 governor himself, Mike Easley, was heavily involved in creating a 306 00:20:28,599 --> 00:20:33,079 job for his wife at the university. The NC State 307 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,519 University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to terminate the contract. 308 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:42,480 This is from WRAL. Mary Easily had resisted calls to 309 00:20:42,599 --> 00:20:45,279 step down from her one hundred and seventy thousand dollars 310 00:20:45,319 --> 00:20:49,680 a year job at NC State despite a growing controversy 311 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,440 that claimed the jobs of three top university officials. The 312 00:20:54,119 --> 00:21:00,519 UNC system president Erskine Bowles, Democrat ran for Senate, said 313 00:21:00,599 --> 00:21:04,200 NC State needed to quote bring sunlight to this issue. 314 00:21:04,519 --> 00:21:08,480 So he backed the trustees' efforts to separate themselves from 315 00:21:08,519 --> 00:21:14,880 Easily and then it goes to the article goes over, 316 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:17,839 I'm trying to see here if there was I thought 317 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:23,680 there was something about Yeah, here it is. Emails released 318 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,920 by the university show that Campbell. All right, I aught 319 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:29,880 the backup and tell you see, I highlighted this. I 320 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:31,640 should have just done what I had. I should have 321 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,200 just gone with what I highlighted. But sometimes I highlight 322 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,519 too much, Okay, I over highlight and then I never 323 00:21:36,559 --> 00:21:38,599 get to a lot of this stuff. So she has 324 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:41,240 served as an executive in residence and senior lecturer at 325 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:46,799 NC States and SO five, developing the Millennium Seminars Speakers Program, 326 00:21:47,039 --> 00:21:50,519 and teaching a graduate course in Public Administration and courses 327 00:21:50,559 --> 00:21:55,279 in the Administrative Offices Management Program, which provides leadership training 328 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,480 to law enforcement officers. Last year so this would have 329 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:04,839 been eight, she got an eighty eight percent pay increase. Coincidentally, 330 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:07,960 when Easley was leaving the Governor's mansion, when she signed 331 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,079 a five year contract, NC State officials defended the moves, 332 00:22:11,079 --> 00:22:14,119 saying she had taken on new roles such as directing 333 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,440 pre law services and serving as a liaison to area 334 00:22:18,559 --> 00:22:21,359 law firms and law schools at other universities as she 335 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:26,880 developed a dual degree program. Provost Larry Nielsen and McQueen Campbell, 336 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:29,680 the chairman of the board of trustees, resigned last month 337 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,440 amid questions over their roles in her hiring. Chancellor James 338 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:38,799 Oblinger submitted his resignation after officials questioned the lucrative payout 339 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:43,240 that he had negotiated with Nielsen as he transitioned into 340 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:48,599 a faculty position, and so. The emails that were released 341 00:22:48,599 --> 00:22:52,279 by the university show Campbell and Oblinger discussed her hiring 342 00:22:52,559 --> 00:22:55,880 in April of five when she was first brought on, 343 00:22:56,039 --> 00:22:58,400 but Oblinger said in a statement that he didn't recall 344 00:22:58,599 --> 00:23:01,960 the communications until he ran the emails again last week. 345 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:05,440 The emails were among documents that NC State turned over 346 00:23:05,519 --> 00:23:09,160 to a federal grand jury that was investigating the dealings 347 00:23:09,599 --> 00:23:13,440 former Governor Mike Easily had with friends and contributors while 348 00:23:13,519 --> 00:23:16,480 in office. If I recall correctly, there was a car 349 00:23:16,559 --> 00:23:20,480 dealership that gave free cars to the Easily family members 350 00:23:20,599 --> 00:23:23,319 like his son and maybe his wife. I forget there 351 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:26,960 was the lucrative land deal that Easily got to take 352 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,839 advantage of down at the coast. He bought some property, 353 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:31,720 sat on it for a while, and then was able 354 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,519 to sell it to some connected person for way more 355 00:23:34,519 --> 00:23:37,880 than it was worth. Things like that. They have ways 356 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,880 of taking care of their politicians on the way out 357 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,640 the door. Okay, so then that was easily. Then there 358 00:23:44,799 --> 00:23:49,000 is BEV Purdue, BEV Perdue. Which this was also something 359 00:23:49,039 --> 00:23:52,400 that Cacoda pointed out. We now have two governors, two 360 00:23:52,559 --> 00:23:55,799 former governors that have gone on to teach at Harvard University. 361 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:00,319 What are the odds these? Apparently we are able to 362 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:04,720 select the most brilliant minds to be our governors, so 363 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,720 much so that they get offered professorships up at Harvard. 364 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:13,319 BEV Perdue finished her term in January of twenty thirteen. 365 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,240 She was a one term governor. Okay, she saw the 366 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,599 writing on the wall. The polling was terrible. Pat McCrory 367 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,799 was gonna beat her, and so she stepped aside, leaving 368 00:24:22,839 --> 00:24:27,680 the seat open basically, and the lieutenant governor, Walter Dalton, 369 00:24:27,799 --> 00:24:30,880 who Walter Dalton, that was literally his campaign ad because 370 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:32,680 nobody knew who the hell he was, so he had 371 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:34,880 to run an ad saying I'm Walter Dalton. It's me, 372 00:24:35,039 --> 00:24:36,599 you know, and I'm running for governor. And of course 373 00:24:36,599 --> 00:24:44,119 he got waxed. And she had gone to Asheville, hung 374 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:47,200 out in a brewery, drank some beers, and the next 375 00:24:47,279 --> 00:24:50,440 morning said, I'm not running for reelection, Like that was 376 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,640 what happened. I was up in Asheville at the time, 377 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,480 and so I still remember like it was like breaking news. 378 00:24:57,559 --> 00:25:00,240 Holy cow, she's not running for reelection. But the writing 379 00:25:00,319 --> 00:25:02,240 was on the wall. She wasn't gonna win. And so 380 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:05,119 she steps aside. And then lo and behold, she gets 381 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:11,279 a gig up at Harvard and she I'm reading the 382 00:25:11,319 --> 00:25:14,559 bio here on the UH on the Harvard page, trying 383 00:25:14,559 --> 00:25:18,079 to find out where uh she managed the state. She 384 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:23,640 was this awesome person, earned a reputation as an innovative, disciplined, 385 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:29,519 and transformative chief executive. Really she she headed for the 386 00:25:29,599 --> 00:25:34,519 hills after one term. Talks about facing a budget shortfall 387 00:25:34,559 --> 00:25:38,160 of eleven percent when she took office because because of 388 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,279 the structural deficits that the Democrats while in charge had 389 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:44,799 run up that Republicans then came in and had to fix. 390 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,799 So anyway she got she got this professorship up there. 391 00:25:50,599 --> 00:25:53,200 I forget what they call like Institute on Politics or 392 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,039 something like that. They called it. So they gave her, 393 00:25:56,079 --> 00:26:01,319 they gave her a gig, So that was bev perdue. 394 00:26:01,839 --> 00:26:05,039 Then there was John Edwards, and he deserves his own segment. 395 00:26:05,559 --> 00:26:08,279 All right, I hope you had a happy holiday season. 396 00:26:08,319 --> 00:26:10,839 But tell me if something like this happened at your house. 397 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:13,759 Your family and friends are gathered around, Maybe y'all are 398 00:26:13,759 --> 00:26:17,319 in the living room, you're laughing, swapping stories, reminiscing, and 399 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:21,160 then somebody says, hey, Dad, remember those old VHS tapes? 400 00:26:21,319 --> 00:26:23,839 Did you ever get them transferred? And then the room 401 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,720 gets all quiet. All eyes are on Dad, who says, oh, 402 00:26:27,759 --> 00:26:29,799 you know, well, I've been meaning to but I just 403 00:26:29,839 --> 00:26:32,799 having gotten around to it. Look, don't let those priceless 404 00:26:32,839 --> 00:26:35,799 memories sit in a box for another year. All right. 405 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,720 Create a Video has been helping families in the Charlotte 406 00:26:38,759 --> 00:26:42,599 area preserve their history since nineteen ninety seven. Simply bring 407 00:26:42,599 --> 00:26:46,039 in your old camquarder tapes and Creative Video will transfer 408 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,279 them to a USB flash drive for just fourteen ninety 409 00:26:49,319 --> 00:26:51,640 five per tape. You have a big collection, they've got 410 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,799 a discount for you. And next year, instead of talking 411 00:26:54,839 --> 00:26:59,119 about those memories. Imagine gathering the family to watch them 412 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,519 together about a memorable gift. So do what I did. 413 00:27:02,559 --> 00:27:06,400 Trust the experts at Creative Video, conveniently located in mint 414 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:09,279 Hill right off I four eighty five and online at 415 00:27:09,319 --> 00:27:12,920 create avideo dot com. Eddie is not listening, he told me, 416 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,880 because we South Carolina folk don't need a rehash of 417 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,440 NC political history. Okay, Eddie, thanks for taking the time 418 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,920 to tell me that you turned off the radio. If 419 00:27:23,039 --> 00:27:26,400 anything that I am ever discussing is of zero interest 420 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,400 to you, I give you permission, not that you need it, 421 00:27:29,599 --> 00:27:32,440 but you can turn the radio off. That's okay. I 422 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,880 don't mind. There's a lot of content out there. You 423 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,759 can go find something else to listen to. My feelings 424 00:27:38,759 --> 00:27:43,559 are not hurt, but people do have an interest in 425 00:27:43,839 --> 00:27:45,960 going over the history if they live through it. But 426 00:27:46,039 --> 00:27:49,839 also people who don't know the history need to understand 427 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,039 that this is a pattern and North Carolina is giving 428 00:27:54,079 --> 00:27:58,839 us a very good chronology of how this operation, the 429 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,599 Paul to prof Pipe line works, and as I indicated 430 00:28:03,599 --> 00:28:06,640 at the beginning of the hour, this ties into the 431 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:13,160 USAID scandal that's unfolding. So if you give it time, 432 00:28:14,279 --> 00:28:17,000 it'll connect, the dots connect. Believe it or not, I 433 00:28:17,079 --> 00:28:21,279 actually chart these shows out like from beginning to end. 434 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,160 So I have a flow and the things connect, the 435 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:28,559 topics connect. Okay, So John Edwards not simply a North 436 00:28:28,599 --> 00:28:32,480 Carolina US senator. No, No, he ran for president twice. 437 00:28:33,039 --> 00:28:35,640 He was the vice presidential candidate. So that's of national 438 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:39,599 import I would think back in two thousand and seven. 439 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,480 John Edwards, according to The New York Times, ended two 440 00:28:43,559 --> 00:28:45,599 thousand and four with the problem. That was when he 441 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,000 ran for president the first time, became the VP nominee 442 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,160 for John F. Kerrey, who, as I understand it, served 443 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,720 in Vietnam, if I remember correctly. He ended two thousand 444 00:28:56,759 --> 00:28:59,160 and four with the problem how to keep alive his 445 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,799 public profile without the benefit of a presidential campaign that 446 00:29:02,839 --> 00:29:06,680 could finance his travels and pay for his political staff. 447 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,319 Mister Edwards, who reported this year that he had assets 448 00:29:10,319 --> 00:29:14,400 of nearly thirty million dollars, came up with a novel solution, 449 00:29:15,279 --> 00:29:20,400 creating a nonprofit organization with the state admission of fighting poverty. 450 00:29:21,119 --> 00:29:26,119 The organization, called the Center for Promise and Opportunity, raised 451 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,680 one point three million dollars in two thousand and five 452 00:29:28,759 --> 00:29:31,559 and unlike a sister charity that he created to raise 453 00:29:31,599 --> 00:29:35,759 scholarship money for poor students. The main beneficiary of the 454 00:29:35,759 --> 00:29:40,559 Center for Promise and Opportunities fundraising effort was that's right, 455 00:29:41,119 --> 00:29:45,400 John Edwards himself. It was to keep it was to 456 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:50,279 keep him out of poverty. It was it was a 457 00:29:50,319 --> 00:29:56,039 promise to him for his opportunity. A spokesman for mister 458 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,920 Edwards defended the center as a legitimate tool against poverty. 459 00:30:00,759 --> 00:30:02,519 I'm not aware, by the way, if there was ever 460 00:30:02,559 --> 00:30:06,319 an analysis done on exactly how many people he lifted 461 00:30:06,359 --> 00:30:11,440 out of poverty with his seminars. I'm sure it was substantial. Though. 462 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,359 The organization became a big part of a shadow political 463 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:19,319 apparatus for mister Edwards after his defeat as the Democratic 464 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,079 vice presidential nominee in two thousand and four and before 465 00:30:23,119 --> 00:30:27,079 the start of his presidential bid this time around in 466 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,720 two thousand and eight. See, so he had it's like 467 00:30:30,759 --> 00:30:33,079 when you want to go backpacking across Europe for your 468 00:30:33,119 --> 00:30:35,400 gap year, Like that's what he's looking at. But how 469 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,079 do you fund this thing? I mean, I know he's 470 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,519 like a really really wealthy guy, but that's just part 471 00:30:41,599 --> 00:30:46,200 of the equation here, you know, he's got some money, sure, 472 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:50,119 but how do you stay in the public eye. He's 473 00:30:50,119 --> 00:30:53,400 got to keep his profile. So this is how you 474 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,160 do it. And then you get to put it on 475 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,319 the resume and you get to then say on your 476 00:30:58,319 --> 00:31:01,839 next campaign trail, you get to say, all the work 477 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,480 I did at the Center for Promise and Opportunity, working 478 00:31:05,519 --> 00:31:08,279 on these poverty related issues and stuff. You get to 479 00:31:08,359 --> 00:31:11,000 use it. See, So it's it's a dual purpose. Really 480 00:31:11,119 --> 00:31:15,799 actually a triple purpose because it makes some money too, right, 481 00:31:15,799 --> 00:31:19,960 It makes some money keep some high profile or higher 482 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,480 profile than just some former guy. And again keep in 483 00:31:22,519 --> 00:31:25,519 mind this was in the days before he could have 484 00:31:25,559 --> 00:31:27,680 just done a podcast. Then now he could just do 485 00:31:27,759 --> 00:31:31,960 a podcast like Anthony Wiener. Who's gonna Anthony Wiener is 486 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,680 like running for mayor now in New York City. He's back. 487 00:31:34,759 --> 00:31:41,440 The Wiener has returned. So it's true, though he has 488 00:31:43,559 --> 00:31:46,000 he's I think, or maybe it's city council. I think 489 00:31:46,039 --> 00:31:49,519 it's the mayor though, but he's he's weighing his options, 490 00:31:49,559 --> 00:31:54,319 I think. So he needed to cover the gap years 491 00:31:54,359 --> 00:32:00,960 between four and eight. It's officers of this Center for 492 00:32:01,039 --> 00:32:04,920 Promise and Opportunity, the officers of that organization were all 493 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,400 members of his political staff, so he kept them employed too. 494 00:32:08,759 --> 00:32:11,319 See it's not just him. He's spreading the wealth around 495 00:32:12,039 --> 00:32:16,119 and it helped pay for his nearly constant travel, including 496 00:32:17,359 --> 00:32:23,680 to the early primary states like New Hampshire. Right, there's 497 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,279 a lot of poverty up there people. Okay, look, he's 498 00:32:26,359 --> 00:32:29,680 doing a lot of poverty work up there. And this 499 00:32:29,839 --> 00:32:36,240 was through unc Chapel Hill. Right, it's the same racket. 500 00:32:36,759 --> 00:32:39,400 It is, as the New York Times called it, a 501 00:32:39,559 --> 00:32:44,559 shadow political apparatus. All right, that'll do it for this episode. 502 00:32:44,559 --> 00:32:46,640 Thank you so much for listening. I could not do 503 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:48,839 the show without your support and the support of the 504 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:51,920 businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, 505 00:32:52,079 --> 00:32:54,160 please support them too and tell them you heard it here. 506 00:32:54,279 --> 00:32:56,799 You can also become a patron at my Patreon page 507 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,519 or go to thepetecallanershow dot com. Again, thank you so 508 00:33:00,599 --> 00:33:07,240 much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.