North Carolina
updated
8:44 a.m.
Contains only posts that are ID'd as local content. An explanation. Want to help improve our local content filter? Add keywords here.
There has been a great deal of talk here about "civility" lately, much of it justified. I'm the first one to confess that I can be pretty snarky when provoked, and I'll gladly admit that I have a certain small talent for provoking others. But exactly what do we mean when we talk about "civility"? Which is to ask, where does disagreement, even vigorous disagreement, become "uncivil"? &...
Pam's House Blend - 5:23 a.m.
UPDATE: MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell makes it sound like Palin is stepping down for family reasons and is sick of politics... has told backers she wants OUT. UPDATE 2 (by Pam): She figures Mark Sanford self-immolated, Charlie Crist (ha) is going for the Senate, Mitt's Mormonism won't pass the fundie test, and Bobby Jindal looks like a featherweight. I guess that leaves Huckabee. What a field...
Pam's House Blend - Fri 1:01 p.m.
More details at http://snipurl.com/allegco Last night, Allegheny County Council became the 15th municipality in Pennsylvania to extend non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ persons through the creation of a Human Rights Commission. The 8-6 votes was not strictly along party lines, but was a significant advance considering five years ago the measure had 2 supporters on Council. The original ...
Pam's House Blend - Fri 10:29 a.m. - 7 clicks 
Here's a question I thought might be of interest. What websites were you on before Pam's House Blend, and which forums/blogs are you currently on? I began in chatrooms on Gay.com, usually in the POZ (HIV/AIDS) room. I was on John Edwards' site before that the Kerry/Edwards' site, then that morphed to Common Grounds/Common Sense. I was on Huffington Post, and still po...
Pam's House Blend - Thu 6:26 p.m. - 2 clicks
Use this thread to keep the conversation going over this welcome long weekend. For those in need of some patriotic festivities, please join us on Saturday from 4 to 7 in Chapel Hill. We'll have barbecue, tea and lemonade, and are asking folks to bring a side dish or dessert. The weather promises to be splendid, and I'm sure turnout will be great. Last year about 130 people attended, and Ja...
BlueNC - Thu 2:18 p.m.
Like the pudgy surviving remnants of the human race in WALL-E, we're addicted to our corn-syrup and fatty fried injections. Which is to say, the new obesity numbers are out for the United States, and North Carolina is now ranked the 12th most obese adult population in the country Another reason to do nothing about reforming health care for this over-stuffed population? ...while the nation ...
WataugaWatch - Thu 8:17 a.m.
Yesterday marked the first day of the fiscal year for most states. While North Carolina is among the states that have not yet passed a budget, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that 12 states with adopted budgets are already out of balance. The total deficit for those 12 states already totals [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Thu 7:06 a.m. - 4 clicks
Small business owner or worker? Have an opinion on health care reform? The NC Health Access Coalition wants to hear your thoughts. We’ll even provide dinner. Just RSVP - see below: Greensboro Small Business Roundtable Flyer Share and Enjoy: ...
The Progressive Pulse - Thu 6:21 a.m. - 3 clicks
Small business owner or worker? Have an opinion on health care reform? The NC Health Access Coalition wants to hear your thoughts. We’ll even provide dinner. Just RSVP - see below: Pittsboro Small Business Roundtable Flyer Share and Enjoy: ...
The Progressive Pulse - Thu 6:21 a.m. - 3 clicks
Senators Kennedy and Dodd sent a letter to the rest of the HELP (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) Committee outlining the final plan from the committee. The plan has a smaller price tag than originally reported and will provide coverage for 97% of Americans. It has a healthy public option and is unlikely to garner bipartisan support. I have a call in to Senator Hagan's office to ver...
BlueNC - Wed 11:04 p.m.
Cross posted on Ampify Open Mic talked about the bullying bill that passed here in North Carolina last week , and I wanted to share some more great news. HB 88 , the Healthy Youth Act of North Carolina, passed it final hurdle last week at the state legislature and Gov. Purdue signed it into law today! The NC legislature website has all the versions of the bill, all the vote history, and ...
BlueNC - Wed 4:29 p.m. - 5 clicks
For those in need of a chortle on a hot summer’s day, check out the latest feature on the blog of Senator Richard Burr’s campaign website. It’s a news story that ABC produced in May about Burr’s opposition to improved federal automotive fuel mileage standards — something that even the U.S. car industry ultimately embraced. Though the specific [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Wed 1:39 p.m.
A coalition of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, formally asked the Dept of Homeland Security, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to make public a list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash disposal sites across the country. With 12 (10 controlled by Duke Energy, 2 by Progress Energy), North Carolina topped the list. Coal ash sites contain harmful a...
North Carolina Sierra Club - Tue 11:22 a.m.
Todd, N.C., residents near the South Fork of the New River are suspicious of Boone and intend to defend their waters from any poachers. That's understandable. But blind opposition to Boone's permit request to draw a maximum of 4 million gallons a day from a river that's flowing at a rate of 50 or 60 million gallons a day may cause them to shoot wildly into their own foot. The progressive m...
WataugaWatch - Tue 9:23 a.m.
Apparently not satisfied with the heavy aroma already enwreathing her and her husband's exercise of power at N.C. State University, Mary Easley says she intends to cause a further stink by appealing her firing from that institution. Thus keeping the whole sorry mess o' pottage bubbling on the stove. She says she's aggrieved. And she's got the attorney to prove it. ...
WataugaWatch - Tue 9:23 a.m. - 2 clicks
My eyes are still smarting from the headline and first paragraph of “conservative columnist” Deroy Murdock’s piece on health care in today’s Chapel Hill Herald. Headline: Obamacare a poison prescription (Obamacare? That sounds familiar.) First paragraph: Betsy McCaughey reads massive health care bills so you don’t have to. Yep, this Betsy McCaughey. ...
Exile on Jones Street - Tue 7:44 a.m. - 3 clicks
The Town of Chapel Hill's new website appears to have gone live today. It sure is a snazzy new look, but I haven't found much yet in the way of new features. The menu navigation seems to be more intuitive than the old website, and it seems to be much easier to use from a casual visitor's perspective. But I'm still not having an easy time finding archived material without a help from my ...
OrangePolitics - Mon 12:03 p.m. - 2 clicks
When hearing this tale , one just naturally meditates on the words of Jesus: "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:23, KJV). Here's the outline: Major evangelism industry big-wig builds $100 million per annum broadcasting empire in Charlotte, is subsequently lured to the South Carolina suburbs of Charlotte by $26 million in tax incentiv...
WataugaWatch - Mon 12:03 p.m. - 3 clicks
Here's an example of using your Christian status among The Saved as a trump card to save you from punishment, i.e. in this case, loss of job: Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), on Friday : I have been doing a lot of soul-searching on that front. What I find interesting is the story of David, and the way in which he fell mightily, he fell in very very significant ways. But then picked up the pieces ...
WataugaWatch - Mon 9:41 a.m.
Cal Cunningham has a golden retriever named Davidson. That, and other fun facts about the potential Senate candidate at his rather extensive Wikipedia page. Roll Call says he’s thinking seriously about it. Politico says Insider Advantage poll “finds Burr with just a 39 percent approval rating, with 31 percent of North Carolina voters disapproving of his performance.” We’re ...
Exile on Jones Street - Mon 2:29 a.m. - 2 clicks
This lovely reminder of how things work from Bob Hall and our friends at Democracy NC: (link to report) SPECIAL-INTEREST PACS GUARD TAX LOOPHOLES A new analysis shows that three dozen of North Carolina’s biggest political action committees (PACs) donated $7 million to state candidates and political parties in the last election – and now many of [...]...
Exile on Jones Street - Jun 26 - 4 clicks
Legislature proposes sales tax changes, manages to get everybody in the state who uses the Amazon program shut down. WSJ: In an email, Amazon reportedly told marketing affiliates in the state that the move was a direct result of North Carolina’s push to levy a tax on purchases made through Amazon affiliates. ...
Exile on Jones Street - Jun 26
WCHL is reporting Bruce Stone's official announcement that he's closing the Varsity theater. He provided them a written statement that's likely to appear shortly in the newspapers as well. Some excerpts regarding the film industry and Stone's situation with the Varsity: "This is a business decision, a bottom-line decision. . . . The Varsity especially has been struggling for over ...
OrangePolitics - Jun 25 - 2 clicks
So South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's staff was just plain lying for him when they announced yesterday that he was on a hike. Instead, he was in Buenos Aires without telling his wife and four kids. "I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford told The State newspaper. ADDENDUM The "something exotic" that Sanford was doing turns out to be an Argentinian woman. ...
WataugaWatch - Jun 24 - 2 clicks
That's George W. Bush in 2005, addressing the delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention, the wholly owned subsidiary of the national Republican Party. That call & response cheerleading may be a contributing factor to why the Charlotte Observer says this a.m. that the Southern Baptists have awakened to a perceptible decline in their numbers. Writes Yonat Shimron: Having pushed out moderat...
WataugaWatch - Jun 22 - 3 clicks
According to the U.S. Census , in 2005 Watauga County had the highest percentage of uninsured people in the whole state of North Carolina ... some 31 percent (hat-tip: MEM). Some 49 other N.C. counties had over 20% of their residents uninsured. Those numbers are probably higher now. Meanwhile, N.C. Senator Kay Hagan is dicking around with the future of the public health, trying her best to fin...
WataugaWatch - Jun 22 - 4 clicks
