Spokesman Brian Long says the department never threatened the job of former Standards Lab head L.F. Eason III over his refusal to lower the flag to honor former Sen. Jesse Helms. It was Eason's idea to retire, Long said.

"It's true he could have faced some disciplinary action, but what that would have been I guess we'll never know," Long said.

In an interview, Eason said he was given the ultimatum over the phone. "I was not given a choice," he said. "I was told if I lowered the flags completely or raised them up, I would be fired."

An e-mail message from Eason's superior, Steve Benjamin, on Monday includes mention of firing but does not specifically threaten it: "To be brief, the choices were lower the flags (which was done) or face disciplinanry [sic] action (possibly being fired as this was an order from the Governor and Commissioner). You asked if retirement was an option since you would rather do that than work for a department honoring Helms by lowering the flags. You weren't forced to retire, but (in my mind) you choose [sic] this as the most palatable option given your strong personal feelings on this."

Eason said he is not seeking his job back, and the department isn't offering. "At this point, we are honoring his decision to retire," Long said.

Nader wants your help

Ralph Nader wants your vote, but first he'll need your signature.

The Green Party presidential candidate is coming to Raleigh on Saturday to hold a campaign rally, but he won't be on the North Carolina ballot in November.

Unlike the Libertarians, the Greens did not submit any signatures before the June 27 deadline to be re-recognized as a party. The two parties also lost a case in May in Wake County Superior Court to overturn the state's tough standards.

They have not yet appealed.

All is not lost for Nader supporters, however. Under state law, Nader can qualify as a write-in candidate for president by turning in a petition with 500 signatures by noon Aug. 6.

As a write-in candidate in 2004, Nader received 1,805 votes -- or one-tenth of one percent of the ballots cast in that race. He was the top write-in candidate in North Carolina that year.

McCain's dig at 'hope'

John McCain is now advertising in North Carolina.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee's first ad focuses on his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in the 1960s.

"It was a time of uncertainty, hope and change. The 'Summer Of Love,' " the narrator says over images of hippies marching. "Half a world away, another kind of love -- of country."

Like Barack Obama's early ads in the state, it focuses on McCain's biography, introducing him as a war hero who worked on "campaign reform, military reform, spending reform" and took on presidents.

It also takes a dig at rival Obama's campaign theme of "hope" and his oratory.

"John McCain doesn't always tell us what we hope to hear," the narrator says. "Beautiful words cannot make our lives better."

As noted elsewhere, the ad ends with a line first used in a British campaign: "Don't hope for a better life. Vote for one."

Hagan has $1.2 million

Kay Hagan says she raised more than $1.6 million in the second quarter.

Though detailed campaign finance reports are not yet available, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate announced Wednesday that she had $1.2 million in cash on hand.

"This extremely strong fundraising total will enable us to aggressively compete with Elizabeth Dole and spread Kay's message to as many North Carolinians as possible," spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan said in a statement.

Hagan's previous report from mid-April showed she had raised $1.5 million since her campaign began in October, though she spent much of that money in a primary race against Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal.