North Carolina
updated
9:20 a.m.
Can I go into heaven now?
Hat tip to Progressive Pulse ...
BlueNC - 9:20 a.m.
Was the stimulus too small?
Martin Wolf, the award winning journalist at the Financial Times, makes a convincing case (registration required) that the real debate over the US stimulus is not whether the stimulus package worked but whether it should have been bigger. Although it’s doubtful that there were enough ’shovel-ready’ projects to make quick use of a major expansion in [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - 8:49 a.m.
Maggie Gallagher meets St. Peter
They talk about gay marriage. I often tell people that what we call “traditional” marriage in America is really only as old as 1967. This video makes the point in a humorous fashion: Share and Enjoy: ...
The Progressive Pulse - 8:49 a.m.
What's the most important thing Richard Burr has done in 16 years? POLL CLOSED
Expand government through the Graduate to a Better Future Act 2% (1 vote) Amendment to allow for exportation of nuclear bomb-grade uranium 26% (11 votes) Expand government through the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act 0% (0 votes) Military Spouse Residency Relief Act 19% (8 votes) He's accomplished an averag...
BlueNC - 8:49 a.m.
UPDATED: Real Jobs, More Lies
UPDATE via email “That’s the third attack mailer ‘Real Jobs NC’ 527 has put out, and that’s the third time they can’t get the basic facts correct,” said Campaign Manager Mike Radionchenko. “When you make three mistakes in three mailers, anything you say is questionable. This special interest group has lost all credibility. The question remains -- when will they stop lying?” ...
BlueNC - 8:49 a.m.
Latino voters blame both parties for stalling immigration reform
It’s hard to find fault with them for doing so.Though Democrats are seen as generally more willing to pass common-sense reform (and less likely to block it), a plurality of voters thinks both parties are stalling. On the specific issue of immigration reform, congressional Democrats have the edge among the Latinos surveyed when it comes [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - 8:26 a.m.
Burr's 16 years of insignificance ... and the winner is?
Throughout the month of August, we sponsored a contest with a $250 reward to the person who could come up with something of great significance that Richard Burr has accomplished. The original post had more than 1300 visits, and more than a dozen entries. Four of those entries were included for review in our poll yesterday , with a clear winner emerging. Richard Burr's most significant accompl...
BlueNC - 7:02 a.m. - 3 clicks 
Corporate traitors
This election is about electing economic patriots, and saying no to corporate traitors. This election is about a lot more than just who comes to Congress (and Raleigh) in January. It will continue to define who we are as a nation, whether we’re a nation that respects workers and rewards work. Corporate traitors is exactly the right term for people who would buy our democracy using money ...
BlueNC - 6:43 a.m.
Top of the morning
Jim Horn at Schools Matter is justifiably fired up about the latest move by the Gang of Five on the Wake County Board of Education to dismantle the system’s diversity policy. And he doesn’t mince any words. Instead of following the advice of the consultant they hired to present a plan for “controlled choice,” the Tea [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - 5:26 a.m.
Where's the President on marriage equality? It depends on what year it is.
Joe Sudbay said this last night on Americablog : It's a little galling that the Log Cabin guy gets to ask the question about Obama's stance on marriage equality. And, the answer is "Behind Dick Cheney." But, that's where Obama is. Obama is on the wrong side of history, but that seems lost on the political geniuses at the White House. This has to change because we're going to keep a...
Pam's House Blend - 4:22 a.m.
Homobigot Sally Kern revives her 'gays worse than terrorism' zombie meme
The homo-hating , illegal pistol-packing bigot Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern ( sallykern@okhouse.gov ) is back and Evan Hurst of Truth Wins Out points us to this report (via the Dallas Voice )-- Sally Kern made her infamous statement about homosexuality being worse than terrorism over two years ago. Now she is trying to explain what she meant! It's not a matter of quality, but a...
Pam's House Blend - Wed 7:29 p.m.
Real Jobs, Real Lies
BlueNC - Wed 2:03 p.m. - 7 clicks
The Estate Tax: Bring it Back Now
Of all the ways taxes can be levied, the estate tax might just be the most sensible and fair. It’s a tax on wealth, not on income, and it can provide funding for vital public investments while having almost no supply-side problems. Besides that, the rates for the tax have traditionally been quite low, much lower [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Wed 1:27 p.m.
See how competing tax proposals would affect you
Would your taxes be lower under President Obama’s proposals to extend the middle class tax cuts, or under proposals to extend all of Bush’s tax cuts, including those for the wealthy? Here’s a tool that can answer that question. The answer might surprise you (or not, if you’ve paid attention). Share and Enjoy: ...
The Progressive Pulse - Wed 1:27 p.m.
More Than Linguists: Servicemembers United Repeal Ad 3 - active duty
So we have our first active duty webad. The fact that we're using someone still in is compelling - as it's meant to be - but only as a means to gain attention. The deeper talking point here is how comprehensive the affects of DADT really are. Take a gander: The focus on linguists discharged under DADT began with a story broke by the Center for the Study of Sexu...
Pam's House Blend - Wed 1:27 p.m.
NCAE: Millions welcome, but serious shortfall looms (video)
In recent weeks, North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction has received $700 million from the federal government. The first $300 million was to help protect teachers from layoffs this school year. The next $400 million will be used to turning around low-performing schools as part of the Race to the Top initiative. In some ways the [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Wed 12:21 p.m. - 4 clicks
The AFA and The Peter go off the rails over Mehlman and GOP 'secret homosexuals'
Join the pity party with Joe Farah at WorldNetDaily boys ! One News Now's Chad Groening composes what has to be one of the most hilarious keyboard protection first grafs ever. A pro-family activist who is working to expose the truth about homosexuality finds it absolutely appalling that former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Ken Mehlman was able to "beat back" Republican efforts a...
Pam's House Blend - Wed 11:10 a.m.
Late Lunch Links
You might remember the post I did a while back about oddsmakers making book on the 2012 Presidential election. In the six weeks since, the betting line has moved. President Obama is — surprisingly — even more of a favorite to win than he was in July, being offered at -140 now. Even more surprising, to [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Wed 10:49 a.m.
Uganda's David Bahati tells author Jeff Sharlet that he would "kill every last gay person"
This is disgusting. Where do you even begin. ( LezGetReal ): Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, went to Uganda and spoke to the author of the much discussed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, David Bahati. Sharlet has written an article about his visit for Harper's Magazine (you'll have to be a subscriber or find a hard copy to read it)...
Pam's House Blend - Wed 10:49 a.m.
Earl Central
Ominous signs coming from Hurricane Earl today, including new worries that its trajectory may be shifting to the west. Ocracoke evacuation ordered . NC Department of Transportation Travel Information National Hurricane Center (scroll down for maps) WRAL Weather Indian Beach webcam ...
BlueNC - Wed 10:28 a.m.
8PM ET: PHB Liveblog with leaders of the LGBT 'military underground' org Outserve
UPDATE: Bumped up for the liveblog. Tonight is the liveblog with the leaders of Outserve , the "underground network of LGBT actively serving military members." We are active duty and veteran gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and members of the Coast Guard who are currently serving and who have served - some in silence, some with the open support of our comrades - i...
Pam's House Blend - Wed 9:45 a.m.
SC Pride banners meets resistance through false claims, distortions
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters In a move which should surprise no one, the Palmetto Family Council released a press release criticizing the city of Columbia about the rainbow flags hanging on downtown lamp posts. The banners are to commemorate the SC Pride festival happening Saturday as well as to bring visibility to SC's lgbt community. The Palmetto Famil...
Pam's House Blend - Wed 9:45 a.m. - 4 clicks
Jobs may be out there, but they’re not really paying
For the thousands who have been handed pink slips in this recession, landing new jobs are supposed to offer relief and a way back to financial stability. But that may not necessarily be the case. The New York Times offered this sobering take today on the changing job market, reporting that many of the available [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Wed 9:03 a.m.
FHFA continues its attack on PACE program
Now you have to pay off Solar panels before selling your house: On Tuesday, Fannie and Freddie issued guidance to lenders stating that borrowers with sufficient equity in their homes must pay off the loans before refinancing. Those homeowners without enough equity to take cash out of their home to pay off the lien can refinance with the loan in place. “It’s absolutely clear now that the F....
BlueNC - Wed 9:03 a.m.
CEOs who lay off the most workers make the most money
You might say “this is altogether unsurprising,” and you’d be right. My favorite bit of cognitive dissonance these days comes from people who believe CEOs have to get multi-million dollar “golden parachutes” built into their contracts, or else companies won’t be able to attract the most talented people — but state workers shouldn’t get decent pension...
The Progressive Pulse - Wed 7:08 a.m.
What's the most important thing Richard Burr has done in 16 years?
BlueNC - Wed 6:20 a.m. - 7 clicks
I didn't watch the President's address tonight, but you can read it here
I had a long hard day at work (you know, the one that keeps a roof over my head) with the prospect of more tomorrow, so I wanted forget about politics this evening, or think about the approaching hurricane, and just went out to dinner with my wife. Now I'm in my jammies and feeling beat. Will give the dogs a snack and hit the sack since I have to get on the hamster wheel again in the AM. But you...
Pam's House Blend - Tue 6:26 p.m.
"We'll bring North Carolina government to its knees."
The extreme right wing of the NCGOP kicked into high gear this week with a full-frontal assault on responsible government, stirring Birthers , Dunkers and Wakers alike to rise to revolt. They've set aside internal squabbles about their not-gay Chairman, and come together with a war chest funded by Pope, Luddy and Eshelman. They call it 100 Days to Change North Carolina . The change they wan...
BlueNC - Tue 3:28 p.m. - 5 clicks
Petition: Republican millionaires should have no voice in the future of Wake schools
Good afternoon. Please take a second to consider signing my petition which will deliver a message to the five Republican members of Wake County's Board of Education. The link will be at the bottom. Thanks! ...
BlueNC - Tue 2:49 p.m.
Why not publicly report hospital costs and insurance company payments?
The Progressive Pulse - Tue 12:48 p.m. - 8 clicks
Former McCain campaign chief: marriage equality is becoming a conservative cause
This quote could put Joseph Farah into a padded cell: "I think there is a growing mass of people in Republican politics who are fundamentally sick and tired about being lectured to about morality and how to live your life by a bunch of people who have been married three or four times and are more likely to be seen outside a brothel on a Thursday night than being at home with their kids... There ...
Pam's House Blend - Tue 12:48 p.m. - 6 clicks
Where is home, Senator Burr?
Does your claim "Home nearly every weekend" include this home in DC? About 450 New Jersey Av SE County/Region: Washington county DC / D.C. Southeast Year built: 1890 | Builder: N/A Square footage: 940 sq. ft. (land) | 1,156 sq. ft. (living) Beds: 3.0 | Baths: 2.5 | Stories: 2 Census tract: 65/Folger Park Property taxes: $5,913.96 (2008) You can see the street view of his house (t...
BlueNC - Tue 12:48 p.m.
Justice Center report: Extension of TANF Emergency Fund critical
The Progressive Pulse - Tue 12:02 p.m. - 5 clicks
Daily Kos diary: 'Who Are The LGBT Community?' I ask: how do we address leadership?
There is a must-read diary over at DKos by GLBT and Friends that covers some ground that we discuss here in the coffeehouse fairly often - can we define a single view of what the LGBT community is ? And even if we can't all agree on what "the community" is, who is currently effectively representing it? The logical and thorny extension of the latter is who is now qualified to represent the...
Pam's House Blend - Tue 10:05 a.m.
Elaine and friends
BlueNC - Tue 8:41 a.m. - 8 clicks
SC Pride hangs rainbow banners in Columbia to increase lgbt visibility
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters The upcoming SC Pride festival is what everyone is talking about in Columbia and a key move by the organization coordinating the festival is a good reason why: Displaying a multitude of colors, the rainbow flag is now hanging from lamp posts on Main and Gervais Streets. The brightly colored banner is a sign of diversity ...
Pam's House Blend - Tue 5:40 a.m.
AFA Highlights/Recycles FOTF Campaign Against Perceived Gay Public School Agenda
Oh, the hard-hitting, up-to-the-minute journalism of OneNewsNow , the "news" outlet for the American Family Association 's (AFA's) "Reporter" Bill Bumpas. In the OneNewsNow piece of Bumpas's (and no, I'm not trying to be funny -- I'm not making up the last name for this OneNewsNow "reporter") , entitled Combating Homosexual Promotion In Schools , Candy Cushman {of Focus On The Family's (F...
Pam's House Blend - Tue 5:24 a.m.
Tough Tuesday
BlueNC - Tue 4:43 a.m. - 6 clicks
Today's Joe Farah Cry for Help: Homocon represents GOP 'appeasement of the open celebration of sin'
Am I the only one willing to stand up for marriage as an institution of one man and one woman? Am I the only one willing to stand up for a U.S. military unencumbered by perverse social experiments? Am I the only one willing to stand up for liberty as a gift of God? -- WorldNetDaily's Joseph Farah, continuing his public psychological meltdown in today's column, " The homo con continu...
Pam's House Blend - Tue 4:05 a.m.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's gay-baiting: next up - his state has steers, no queers
Gov. Perry was speaking at a barbecue in Temple, Texas , and he asked those in the crowd to make a decision. " Would you rather live in a state like this, or in a state where a man can marry a man ?" -- From Michael Jones's piece at Change.org . Is this what it's come down to? The hypocrisy fest is plumb out of control today. No word on whether he took an empty beer can and crushed it o...
Pam's House Blend - Mon 3:09 p.m.
Winger Sen. Tom Coburn on Gingrich: 'he doesn't know anything about commitment to marriage'
This is hysterical - Newt's going to have a hard slog ahead if he plans to run for President - his own party faithful are going to talk about his inability to understand the "Sanctity of Marriage." Via Think Progress : U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn called out Democrats, Republicans, Newt Gingrich, the military-industrial complex, teachers unions and Medicare - to name a few - at a town hall meeting F...
Pam's House Blend - Mon 1:20 p.m.
Striking a nerve
BlueNC - Mon 9:49 a.m. - 6 clicks
Real Jobs?
BlueNC - Mon 7:28 a.m. - 9 clicks
OutServe creates announces creation of regional and base chapters; join Blend liveblog on Wed
Pam's House Blend - Sun 10:09 p.m. - 4 clicks
Ken Mehlman, Do Something Useful: Speak Truth to Power.
Pam's House Blend - Sun 12:29 p.m. - 2 clicks
Guest column by Kate Kendell: Choosing Children - progress made in LGBT family law
Pam's House Blend - Sat 7:02 a.m. - 5 clicks
iokiyar
BlueNC - Fri 12:02 p.m. - 12 clicks
Marshall says Simpson should go
Breaking: Democrat acts like Democrat. Charlotte, NC – In a speech Thursday marking the 90th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote, U.S. [...]...
Exile on Jones Street - Fri 8:02 a.m. - 11 clicks
Dr. Bill Roper: NC's most powerful person in health care
The Progressive Pulse - Fri 6:21 a.m. - 10 clicks
Pathetic Family Research Council DADT ad goes after 'HARRY REID and HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISTS'
Pam's House Blend - Thu 7:49 p.m. - 6 clicks
Surprise! Fair and Balanced...NOT: Fox News Channel - runs ZERO segments on Mehlman
Pam's House Blend - Thu 7:20 p.m. - 4 clicks
Keith Olbermann covers NYC cab driver stabbed for being a Muslim
Pam's House Blend - Aug 25 - 6 clicks
DFA hearts Debra McHenry
BlueNC - Aug 25 - 8 clicks
With Dix closure, new worries of chaos for patients (video)
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 25 - 10 clicks
Local business leader speaks out in support of universal child care
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 25 - 8 clicks
Lunch Links
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 25 - 9 clicks
Catholics for Equality: Laudable, Laughable, or Simply Oxymoronic?
Pam's House Blend - Aug 24 - 3 clicks
Americans for the Prosperous use Ronald Reagan to mock March on Washington
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 24 - 7 clicks
As county leaders gather, new worrries about "the 800 lb. gorilla" (video)
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 24 - 6 clicks
Mike Signorile interviews WND's Farah - on Coulter's 'betrayal': 'My Eyes Have Been Opened'
Pam's House Blend - Aug 24 - 3 clicks
A new day?
OrangePolitics - Aug 24 - 2 clicks
A new day?
The Orange County Board of Commissioners will place a 1/4 cent sales tax on the ballot this November. Revenues generated from the tax, which is expected to raise $2.3M annually, will be allocated for economic development (42.5%), repairing older school buildings (42.5%), public safety (15%). The tax will not be applied to food or pharmaceuticals. Of the $977,500 expected to be raised for economi...
OrangePolitics - Aug 23 - 2 clicks
The Peter soils himself over another conservative defection on marriage equality
Pam's House Blend - Aug 23 - 2 clicks
Meet me in ... Charlotte for 2012: The Democratic National Committee 2010 summer meeting in St. Loui...
BlueNC - Aug 23 - 6 clicks
Lunch links
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 23 - 8 clicks
Coulter on fundie Take Back America confab: 'They're a bunch of fake Christians'
Pam's House Blend - Aug 23 - 3 clicks
UNC's anti-abortion controversy
BlueNC - Aug 22 - 5 clicks
Dornan: Teacher retention, better funding are challenges for new neighborhood schools
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 20 - 3 clicks
Weekend wound up
BlueNC - Aug 20 - 3 clicks
New report: extending middle class tax cuts would have huge impact on NC's families
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 19 - 2 clicks
Truth Wins Out: Catholic Bishops Claim to 'Refute' Legitimacy of U.S. Court System
Pam's House Blend - Aug 18 - 2 clicks
Great Schools in Wake group denounces unfounded attack on public schools
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 18 - 4 clicks
Housing attorney extraordinaire discusses foreclosure crisis in North Carolina
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 18 - 6 clicks
Lunch Links
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 18 - 4 clicks
Ballantine files Chapter 7
BlueNC - Aug 18 - 6 clicks
Socarides: The sooner Obama changes his answer on marriage, the better off he will be
Pam's House Blend - Aug 18 - 2 clicks
What’s going on at UNC-TV?
Yes! Weekly is reporting that Eszter Vajda has been fired. No reason given, according to the report. LL has been on this story plenty and [...]...
Exile on Jones Street - Aug 17 - 3 clicks
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is a bit out of touch
The Progressive Pulse - Aug 17 - 2 clicks
