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Raleigh, N.C. — McCrory administration appointee Dianna Lightfoot now says she will not take the job leading the state's pre-kindergarten program.
Lightfoot's appointment was announced Tuesday. But questions were raised about potential conflict of interest because she founded and headed an organization that advocated against publicly funded early childhood education programs like NC Pre-K.
On Wednesday night, Lightfoot deleted her Twitter account, in which she referred to Hillary Clinton as a "butch" and questioned whether ultrasonic waves had caused the 2011 Japan earthquake. A Facebook account that remained online referred to gay rights protesters as "bigots."
A YouTube video also emerged of Lightfoot speaking at a tea party rally in the Stokes County town of Pinnacle in September, equating the Affordable Care Act with "enslavement" and urging the audience to rise up against it.
Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Julie Henry released the following statement shortly after noon Thursday:
"Dianna Lightfoot was scheduled to start at HHS next week as Director of Child Development and Early Education. Ms. Lightfoot informed Secretary (Aldona) Wos this morning that she does not wish to be a distraction to the department and will pursue other opportunities. Secretary Wos accepted this decision."
WRAL News also has learned that Lightfoot might have voted improperly in three North Carolina elections.
State law requires voters to register at the address where they live, but elections records show Lightfoot gave the address of a UPS store in Winston-Salem as her residence.
Lightfoot hasn't responded to requests for an explanation.
Likewise, DHHS and the Governor's Office haven't explained the vetting process they used to select Lightfoot – or other job candidates. The information about her background and social media posts was easily available through a Google search.
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Why don't you just copy and paste the definition of a strawman argument and save us all some time?
Here's a solution. WORK. Work for benefits. I'll be more than happy to take the job of creating a system that will support kids and improve the overall lives of all involved.
It starts with not being able to sit at home doing nothing while collecting Government checks just because you had a baby.
February 8, 2013 12:38 p.m.
Still having trouble with the term "personal responsibility" I see. Pass the buck. Not my fault. I just had NO way of knowing that the government would give me benefits for years just because I had a baby.
Tell me how giving away years of taxpayer funded entitlements for having kids will teach people who shouldn't be having kids to not have them.
Why do you think certain people are so inept that they can't figure out how not to get pregnant without the Government leading them by the hand?
Why can't YOU figure out that some people get pregnant ON PURPOSE in order to have a passport to years of free stuff?
You can educate some people all day about avoiding pregnancy and they'll still get pregnant because they KNOW the system in place is structured so that babies = $$$ for parents.
How about we cut off the funds that pay people for years on end just because they had a kid, or at least make them work for it?
February 8, 2013 12:34 p.m.
Oh, they "choose" to, huh?"
Yes.
"It's all the GOP's fault/access/awareness/education/ blame blame blame"
Condoms are available in every drugstore.
February 8, 2013 12:32 p.m.
February 8, 2013 12:09 p.m.
So... stick them in box cars and ship them off to a camp where they can be sterilized? Is that your solution?
February 8, 2013 12:09 p.m.
Because they choose to keep doing the things that keep them "in need". Like having babies in the middle of the worst depression of their lifetimes."
Oh, they "choose" to, huh? Tell me, what has the GOP done to improve health care, sex ed, and access to birth control? Last I checked, they tried their best to block it, restrict it to abstinence only, and allow employers to meddle in it based on the employers' morals.
Tell me how cutting off funds to help 3 and 4 year olds teaches those kids the error of their ways.
February 8, 2013 12:07 p.m.
What recent Democratic appointee came anything close to being this nuts?" gu
Psst. Linda what's her name, Bev's PC appointee in charge of ESC who gave away half a billion and didn't recoup a penny because "it would be too hard on recips." IIRC you're furious that UE benes are likely to be cut. She's a large part of the reason, and she was allowed to remain in power for long, long after that.
February 8, 2013 11:53 a.m.
Wow, sexist AND a freeloader!
February 8, 2013 11:38 a.m.
I am truly stunned and speechless."
How do/did you feel when Tax Cheat Geithner was chosen to head the IRS?
February 8, 2013 11:34 a.m.
Every one that advocates a system that encourages people who make poor parents to have children by paying them benefits that require nothing in return.
These at-risk kids are at-risk because they have parents who don't care enough to put effort into raising them, and see the kids as simply a passport to government benefits.
As long as people are allowed to sit at home and do nothing while collecting "entitlements", kids qualifying for at-risk status will continue to be born.
There are plenty of things that need to be done that people who get benefits could do in return for their subsidizes. When people stop seeing kids as a way to support themselves while sitting at home doing nothing, the population of at-risk kids will drop dramatically.
If you advocate for assistance for at-risk kids, you should also advocate for changing the system that encourages the pregnancies that result in at-risk kids.
February 8, 2013 11:15 a.m.
why? why stop doing something that seems to work?
February 8, 2013 10:36 a.m.
February 8, 2013 10:11 a.m.
What recent Democratic appointee came anything close to being this nuts?
February 8, 2013 9:34 a.m.
February 8, 2013 9:34 a.m.
Things that make you go ... hmmmm.
February 8, 2013 9:29 a.m.
So then, how about the Republican 'wide-stance' Congressman that was caught trying for an airport restroom hook-up? Remember him? What did he do? He held on to his office and screamed it was just a witch hunt. Even his own party wanted him to resign. Point I'm making is, it isn't a Democrat or Republican problem, that's just bad behavior from human beings. It's not political, but people want to use it that way. And the word you used above in one instance was "accused". Innocent till due-process is done, ok? (Though I agree, he's probably guilty, but everyione deserves to let the legal system work)
February 8, 2013 9:16 a.m.
February 8, 2013 8:56 a.m.
February 8, 2013 8:44 a.m.
February 8, 2013 8:44 a.m.
ask the republican governors of Loiusiana, New Jersey and the Republican delegation of the states affected by Sandy.
February 8, 2013 8:09 a.m.
February 8, 2013 8:07 a.m.
February 7, 2013 10:10 p.m.
February 7, 2013 10:04 p.m.
"The vetting process seeks to inform the public or other decision-makers of a candidate's past. In practice, it often serves to narrow the field of candidates by preventing those with embarrassing pasts from ascending to higher office." Wags
@Wags - I wish you had also alerted the media about vetting before November 2008!!
February 7, 2013 9:36 p.m.
February 7, 2013 8:50 p.m.
February 7, 2013 8:37 p.m.
February 7, 2013 8:21 p.m.
February 7, 2013 8:15 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:58 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:57 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:50 p.m.
Yeah, that's not even close to anything I've ever said. But I did point out that you like to make things up so you can judge, and you just proved me right.
"I've taken people off the street into my home and given them a chance to clean up and get a job."
What an amazing coincidence! Me, too! In fact, I helped 73 people in the last hour, and that's a slow day. I'm 6'8", 250#, run a 4.1 40, too.
"And people like you make it easy for them not to because you want to give them free everything"
Mom? Is that you? How do you know me SOOO well? In this thread, the only free thing I could remotely be interpreted to be advocating is that disadvantaged toddlers be given the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty through education. You just want to blame their parents for motives you are able to guess w/o knowing them, then punish the children.
February 7, 2013 7:45 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:43 p.m.
Yea the crooks I were referring too were and are in charge of leading our country? Are you serious?
February 7, 2013 7:43 p.m.
"This is the ONLY valid reason why she shouldn't be in the position. Her comments on Obamacare, gay rights protestors and Hillary Clinton should have no bearing whatsoever. She should be given some credit for resigning, which was the right thing to do. It is a "facepalm" moment for the McCrory camp, though."
I don't believe her position opposing early childhood education is a valid reason why she shouldn't be appointed. Republicans oppose this and they were elected. And frankly, I don't see that this woman is an aberration. I think she is pretty typical of the modern Republican party. I can't say I'm surprised that the party is embarrassed when the public recognizes this.
But if you don't want people like her in government, stop electing Republicans.
February 7, 2013 7:39 p.m.
..Republicans want to kill programs like this..to keep kids on the "schools to prison" track to feed the nations for-profit prison system."
Please tell me you don't -really- think only Republicans profit from private prisons. If you are actually that brainwashed into the left-right control paradigm then there's very little probability of hope for you.
I bet you also think that we as a society should keep giving money to people for doing nothing other than simply having babies. People who don't bother to teach their children to count to two.
Where is the disconnect in the minds of people like you?
Why can't you understand that the current system SUPPORTS the conditions where children aren't taught to count to two at home?
Why do NONE of the Libs here think -the system needs to change- in order to change the conditions in which children are used as meal tickets and have no support at home?
February 7, 2013 7:38 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:28 p.m.
Well Bless Your Heart, I don't recall them being put in charge of agenceis. I don't care what side you're on, who on earth puts someone in charge of Division of Child Development with these bizarre beliefs?
February 7, 2013 7:24 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:24 p.m.
Oh please, if you know so much about people then you'd know that it's not very hard for people to figure out how to get benefits, especially if it's a generational system you grew up in.
Also you should know that some people are just not inclined to apply themselves academically, the same as they're not inclined to want to work at a legit job.
You prefer YOUR OWN truth of "the only reason people are poor is because they're being held down by the rich Republicans." [Not rich Democrats of course]
I've taken people off the street into my home and given them a chance to clean up and get a job. About 1 in 10 have made any progress because most DO NOT WANT TO WORK.
And people like you make it easy for them not to because you want to give them free everything with no requirements to work on bettering their situation.
February 7, 2013 7:16 p.m.
I am truly stunned and speechless.
February 7, 2013 7:11 p.m.
you obviously have forgotten about Kimba Wood, Zoe Baird, etc. Many people forget that the Reps in 92 started a lot of what we now deal with on a daily basis in politics. Before Clinton was elected, the two parties agreed to disagree but still worked together in government to get things done. Since that time, the Dems have gotten their payback so they certainly can't point their fingers in a blameless manner.
February 7, 2013 7:09 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:09 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:06 p.m.
Scottie
I couldnt agree with you more!!!!
February 7, 2013 7:04 p.m.
February 7, 2013 7:03 p.m.
Is there another kind?
February 7, 2013 7:02 p.m.
February 7, 2013 6:50 p.m.
February 7, 2013 6:49 p.m.
Anyone smart enough and clever enough to figure out how to bilk the system the way you describe is also smart enough to realize that it's far easier just to apply your intelligence to some more profitable work. The truth is that you don't have the slightest clue about people AND you don't really care about the truth. You'd much rather make up your own story so you can look down on others and judge them.
February 7, 2013 6:45 p.m.