North Carolina
updated
11:06 a.m.
If you want another good laugh at the delusional anti-gay mindset, click over and read Star Parker's " When color trumps Christianity " over at Clown Hall. It's another case of Bizarro World, where the God-fearing American culture is going to hell in a handbasket because the current President has done so much for the LGBT agenda (!?). President Obama hosted a reception at the White House celebr...
Pam's House Blend - 10:55 a.m.
The Center for Responsive Politics has sifted through the lobbying disclosure forms this year and discovered that the drug trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, has spent more than $66.5 million in the first three months of 2009 on pushing its health reform goals. That means Big Pharma is shelling out [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - 10:26 a.m.
For days on end now, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has found himself in a sticky political and personal mess. Having an affair and cheating on the mother of your four boys is bad enough. Sneaking off, lying about your whereabouts, completely abdicating your duties and risking impeachment for malfeasance, that sounds like a deal [...]...
IntersateQ.com - 10:26 a.m.
Right : So who will be riding in the GOP clown car in 2012 -- whose heads should replace these from the 2008 cycle's car (Rudy "Popo" Giuliani, Fred "Bobo" Thompson, Mitt "Dodo" Romney, Sam "Coco" Brownback, Mike "Hoho" Huckabee, Ron "RoPo" Paul, and John "Assho" McCain)? It's so interesting to see the right squirm about 2012 so early as they watch potential candidates self-immolate (Ensign,...
Pam's House Blend - 9:09 a.m.
On a broiling Independence Day morning, more than 800 people crowded into Cannon Park in downtown Charleston for a sequel to this spring's anti-tax "Tea Party"— minus one of the movement's standard bearers, Gov. Mark Sanford. When Sanford spoke to thousands of protesters April 15 at the U.S. Customhouse, he had emerged as a leading national critic of the Obama administration's economic stimulus ...
Andrew Jackson Democrats - 9:09 a.m.
The House Finance Committee changed a wide-ranging annexation reform bill Thursday to allow affected residents a chance to trigger a vote on whether to carry out a municipal expansion sought by elected leaders. A referendum would be allowed if 15 percent of registered voters within the existing city limits and the area to be annexed signed a petition seeking a vote. “I don't feel good about exp...
Andrew Jackson Democrats - 9:09 a.m.
US House Health Reform Proposal Representatives Sue Myrick, GK Butterfield, and Bob Etheridge are members of the three committees drafting this bill. US Senate Health Committee Health Reform Proposal Both Senator Kay Hagan and Senator Richard Burr are on this committee. Share and Enjoy: ...
The Progressive Pulse - 7:45 a.m.
Raleigh’s News & Observer re-ran a story over the weekend that first appeared in the Wilson Times last week. It told the story of a three-year $300,000 grant that the state Health and Wellness Trust Fund is providing to Wilson, Nash and Edgecombe Counties to hire a couple of dental hygienists to help low-income residents. While [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - 7:45 a.m.
The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC), which "represents the Catholic Bishops of the State of Washington on issues of public policy", has posted a link to this notice on the main page of their website (hyperlinks are mine). Repealing Domestic Partner Benefits Passed by the 2009 Legislature, SSB 5688 granted all of the rights of marriage to same-sex couples in Washington State. &nb...
Pam's House Blend - 7:45 a.m.
You can't exactly call the monologue that McNamara performs in "The Fog of War" a mea culpa, but I can guarantee you that we'll never see this level of intelligence and human insight from anyone in the Bush administration on the subject of their own participation in the Iraq War, forty years hence. Read more ...
BlueNC - 7:45 a.m.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen was on a couple of the Sunday talk shows and he was asked about the President's policy on DADT. Mullen said he has what steps might be taken to implement a change in the policy with his own staff, but said the President has been advised to move "in a measured way" to change DADT. Here is what he said when CNN's John King interviewed him....
Pam's House Blend - 6:23 a.m.
It's so tiring to read ignorance like thi s, but this is why the church faces a schism. The bottom line is that one has to pray away the gay to be in good standing with the Big Guy Upstairs TM . The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, has defended traditional biblical teachings on homosexuality and said the Church should not be "rolled over by culture". Dr Nazir-Ali spoke as tens of thou...
Pam's House Blend - 6:23 a.m.
Filing for local office opens at 8:00 a.m. this morning and my mother decided she was doing it first thing. Then we decided at the last minute we would invite family and friends for coffee before and after filing at this new little local coffee shop. Then we decided to open the invitation up. Now, I'm dragging my fanny to Charlotte waaaaay too early. Only for my dear mother. I will be gone...
BlueNC - 2:20 a.m.
Legal eagle Jonathan Turley has an interesting blog that's worth adding to your RSS reader. He follows some of the wackiest cases on it that he doesn't get to discuss when he serves as a legal talking head on the MSM. This partcular case is par for the course -- " McBleach: Man Accuses McDonald’s of Slipping Him an Intentionally Tainted Burger .&quo...
Pam's House Blend - Sun 6:38 p.m.
Our divine "moral compass" and declarant of "civil war" on same-sex marriage was arrested and charged last night in DC for stalking a woman in Anacostia Park. According to the Washington Post : At about 8:45 p.m., a woman traveling near the intersection Good Hope Road and Anacostia Drive flagged down a U.S. Park Police officer to report that a man in a vehicle nearby was stalking her, ...
Pam's House Blend - Sun 3:20 p.m.
A major paper has pick up on this story, and capture the outrage over the Stonewall weekend police raid at the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas. In " A Raid at a Club in Texas Leaves a Man in the Hospital and Gay Advocates Angry ," James McKinley, Jr. of the NYT captures the major issues at play and added a few more details about the event. So many questions have been raised...
Pam's House Blend - Sun 8:04 a.m.
Good Sunday morning to each of you. I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing 4th of July holiday. In this week's report on politics from Dixie, I have comppiled stories regarding events in various state legislators and an analysis on how not to manage a crisis from South Carolina. Y'all enjoy and have a blessed Sunday....
Andrew Jackson Democrats - Sun 8:04 a.m.
Tar Heel Gov. Beverly Perdue (D), in office some six months, is experiencing a significant down-turn in her approval rating among the state’s voters. An InsiderAdvantage survey taken June 22 showed her with a 36% favorable, 56% unfavorable rating -- compared to President Obama’s 50%-to-37% favorable-unfavorable ratio. The poll was taken five days after Perdue backed a $1.5 billion state tax increa...
Andrew Jackson Democrats - Sun 8:04 a.m.
Just like Ted Haggard, Gov. Mark Sanford's "little Sanford" took over the South Carolina governor and was led to his Argentine concubine by Satan, according to his spiritual adviser . Each Sunday afternoon in May, Gov. Mark Sanford and his wife hosted five other couples at the executive mansion for a spiritual "boot camp." Topics discussed during the hour-and-a-half-long sessions inc...
Pam's House Blend - Sun 5:42 a.m. - 5 clicks 
Some days are better than others, I guess. From The Leaf Chronicle : A disagreement at the local Social Security office Wednesday ended with one of the people dropping her pants. According to a Clarksville Police report, a customer became angry when she and a office clerk got into an argument about the customer's gender. The suspect then allegedly dropped her pants to prove she was a female,...
Pam's House Blend - Sun 5:42 a.m.
How are we supposed to get anything done with health care reform with ridiculous attitudes like this? ( Think Progress ): During a townhall in Waukon, IA Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was asked by a constituent of his: "Why is your insurance so much cheaper than my insurance and so better than my insurance?" When Grassley struggled to explain the details of his own health care plan, the e...
Pam's House Blend - Sun 5:42 a.m.
When I sat down to compile a complement to last year's post , I debated (with myself) whether to take these one year at a time or just jump forward to the finalization and subsequent signing of the Constitution. Well, I don't have the patience of the Founding Fathers, plus you never know if you'll get thrown from your horse or be consumed by consumption, so: I give you William Blount, Richar...
BlueNC - Sun 4:03 a.m.
Matt Comer at QNotes has a great piece on openly gay candidates running for office in my state, as well as a look back at some of the trailblazers in the past. This year North Carolina has three out gay candidates who will be on the ballot -- Mark Kleinschmidt , who's running to serve as the mayor of Chapel Hill, Lee Sartain is making a bid for a seat on the Raleigh City Council...
Pam's House Blend - Sun 12:43 a.m. - 5 clicks
As we fight for equality here, look at what our brothers and sisters face in Uganda . A stringent Bill against homosexuality is in the offing, the state minister for ethics and integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, has said. Addressing a press conference at the Media Centre yesterday, Buturo said the country was besieged by homosexuality, pornography, prostitution, human sacrifice, drug abuse, embe...
Pam's House Blend - Sat 8:09 p.m.
Update from Autumn : For those of you who think this post is a comment from me that says "F it, it doesn't matter if I identified the right first person" of "First actual perceived-by-me weaponizing of the term cis, cisgender, or cissexual" ... that is literally not what I meant. I likely did get it wrong -- it was the first weaponizing of the term that I remembered specifically as the weaponi...
Pam's House Blend - Sat 3:10 p.m.
Happy 4th of July. May everyone have a great holiday and not lose focus of the real meaning for the celebration today. May we alwyas remember those who sacraficed to provide these freedoms both past and present and may God continue to bless this beautiful country....
Andrew Jackson Democrats - Sat 3:10 p.m.
Click here to sign up to meet with your US Senators and Representatives in August in your local district to press the case for HR 3017, The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. These meetings are sponsored by the Inclusive ENDA Facebook campaign , co-chaired by Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend,...
Pam's House Blend - Sat 1:25 p.m.
Thanks to the pool reporter traveling with Vice President Biden we have a more colorful, emotional accounting of the swearing in ceremony of 237 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who became citizens of the United States on the 4th of July while stationed in Iraq. While most of these men and women were from Mexico and the Phillipines, there were 12 Iraqis who joined our ranks as citizens. T...
BlueNC - Sat 8:44 a.m.
Happy Independence Day! I'm typically a sentimental fool on the 4th. I love history and am prone to bore my children to tears with stories about how things used to be. When I was a little girl I went through a long period of time when my desired grownup profession was not a teacher, lawyer or doctor...I wanted to be a Pioneer. I wanted to live off the land. I thought it would be so rewarding...
BlueNC - Sat 6:20 a.m.
The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate [...]...
IntersateQ.com - Fri 11:02 p.m.
No really . Well we got no choice All the girls and boys Makin all that noise 'Cause they found new toys Well we can't salute ya Can't find a flag If that don't suit ya That's a drag School's out for summer School's out forever School's been blown to pieces No more pencils No more books No more teacher's dirty looks Well we got no class And we got no principles And we got no innocence We c...
WataugaWatch - Fri 3:57 p.m.
Hinting that she can't take the heat in this "new political environment," Sarah Palin resigns as Governor of Alaska. ...
BlueNC - Fri 1:23 p.m.
The NC Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources is set to vote on revised version of Senate Bill 1068, Permitting Wind Energy Facilities in NC, on Tuesday July 7th that will ban all wind energy projects in the NC mountains, driving away jobs, economic benefits, and clean electricity from the region. Read more ...
BlueNC - Fri 12:40 p.m.
Disgraced politicians have limited options. When they decide to make a reappearance in public, they desperately need to go where they're guaranteed a friendly, even adulatory reception, and a minimum of booing. Which is why Richard M. Nixon in August 1979 chose the tiny (and heavily Republican) mountain town of Hyden, Kentucky, for his first public appearance after being forced from office. Tha...
WataugaWatch - Fri 9:58 a.m.
Rob Schofield give the governor’s performance a six-month review and offers recommendations for improvement in “Let Perdue be Perdue“. The Fitzsimon File will be on hiatus from July 2-12. During this time please look for other NC Policy Watch commentaries such as the Weekly Briefing, Progressive Voices or Setting the Record Straight. In addition, The Progressive [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Fri 9:16 a.m.
Sen. Kay Hagan joined fellow Dems on the HELP committee in supporting a public option in health care reform. TPM has the story here. Jame Hamser of FireDogLake has been on this story from jump street. Betsy at BlueNC is ready to make nice. My feeling on this has been that progressives in this state worked very hard [...]...
Exile on Jones Street - Fri 9:16 a.m.
Fair and balanced? Paragraph One and Two Imagine your power bill going up by $200 a month. Progress Energy spokesman Mike Hughes said Thursday that it’s a possibility under President Barack Obama’s energy plan that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week. Then waaaaay down in paragraph Sixteen comes the rebuttal, er, facts. Hartzell said that a recent [...]...
Exile on Jones Street - Fri 9:16 a.m.
The following is the summary of the public option from Senate HELP Committee. A Strong Public Option The Community Health Insurance Option A strong majority of Americans believe that a strong public option is an important component of any health reform bill that keeps costs down, expands coverage, and offers American families a wide variety of affordable options. Backed by the government...
BlueNC - Fri 4:38 a.m.
Yesterday, in a first for the 5,000 workers at the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the employees or the Smithfield plant ratified a contract with Smithfield Foods granting the better benefits, pay increases and working conditions. The Press Release from UFCW: WORKERS AT WORLD'S LARGEST PORK PLANT RATIFY FIRST-EVER UNION CONTRACT ...
BlueNC - Thu 3:39 p.m.
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. - 2 clicks
In his lastest series of commentaries on budget, Chris Fitzsimon simplifies the debate taking place between the House and Senate members into two fundamental approaches. “The Crux of the debate” looks at the differences between those who want to reform the tax system and those who want to build upon a system that is already [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Thu 12:04 p.m.
As suspected, the Congestion Relief bill was pulled from consideration by the Senate Finance Committee yesterday. It is unlikely that the bill will be considered before the budget is finalized. The major sticking point apparently continues to be the House bill’s authorization of local option quarter cent sales referenda for 94 counties - all save the [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Thu 9:17 a.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. - 2 clicks
Betsy Muse at BlueNC is reporting that the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee has a draft bill, that it contains "a healthy public option," and that Sen. Kay Hagan has signed on to it. Perhaps all those phone calls really helped. ...
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. - 6 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. - 5 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. - 5 clicks
Shocking news on Politico this morning, the Washington Post is offering lobbyists the chance to sponsor discussions at publisher Katharine Weymouth’s house. Attendees would allegedly include top Obama administration playas and the top of the WaPo food chain. Doesn’t that beat all? Not quite. The news was broken by a lobbyist who was disturbed by [...]...
The Progressive Pulse - Thu 6:21 a.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. - 2 clicks
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. - 2 clicks
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. - 5 clicks
It looks like Amazon’s affiliate program shut down in NC is part of a long running battle between local and state govs and the mail order giant. A lot of people I respect on this issue are saying ’screw ‘em.’ Here’s post from James at BlueNC that points to a Mark Binker column on the issue. ...
Exile on Jones Street - Tue 7:44 a.m.
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. - 5 clicks
Civitas polling over the past two months has shown a significant decline in both Gov. Bev Perdue’s job approval and personal favorability ratings. After beginning the year riding high on the Democratic honeymoon period thanks to President Obama, Perdue’s numbers have taken a sharp nose dive. Her job approval rating is basically even and her personal favorability has fallen into the negative range...
Andrew Jackson Democrats - Tue 6:20 a.m. - 2 clicks
Obviously, Buenos Aires isn't the best place to be if you want to run South Carolina. But for the crowded field of 2010 gubernatorial hopefuls, it's looking more and more like South Carolina isn't the best place to be, either. That could boost the fortunes of Rep. J. Gresham Barrett, who publicly has avoided the palace intrigue in Columbia in the wake of Gov. Mark Sanford confessing that he had a...
Andrew Jackson Democrats - Tue 5:52 a.m. - 4 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. - 5 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 - Jun 29 - 3 clicks
Long-time GSMNP activist Ted Snyder's on the park: What is the greatest threat or risk to this park? The greatest threat to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the construction of a 30+ mile parkway road inside the park near its southwest boundary. An Environmental Impact Statement issued in 2007 estimated the cost (in 2006 dollars) at $729 million. The Department of the Interior is co...
North Carolina Sierra Club - Jun 29
Word via TPM that MoveOn is going to take on Sen. Kay Hagan over the public option. I spoke with some folks in the Senator’s office yesterday and they explained that she could support a public option but is unwilling to commit to doing so until she sees what the plan looks like. This will likely [...]...
Exile on Jones Street - Jun 29
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 - Jun 29 - 4 clicks
http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/bill_in_a_ba Gov. Beverly Perdue signed legislation Wednesday that bans plastic shopping bags for large retailers on the Outer Banks and sent the new law back to its chief patron, Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight , in -- wait for it -- a plastic shopping bag. ...
North Carolina Sierra Club - Jun 26
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 - 5 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 - 3 clicks
A Kentucky Assembly of God Church is hosting a "bring-your-gun-to-Church" Sunday. We are not making this up. ...
WataugaWatch - Jun 26
Visiting the homepage for The Appalachian Visitor Center , an advertisement-driven for-profit website, we were startled to be confronted by that all-too-familiar visage, giving her blessing to $$ tourism. How many furriners, given The Madam's recent notoriety, might turn around their plans to come here, seeing who represents (?) us in Congress? ...
WataugaWatch - Jun 26
Editorial from this week’s paper: About 16 years ago, the state of Florida passed health care reforms that promised at least a beginning for universal coverage offering both public and private options. Pushing through those reforms, which were touted at the time as a possible model for national reform, was Gov. Lawton Chiles. Chiles grew up in [...]...
Exile on Jones Street - Jun 26
The House is preparing a continuing resolution for floor action today. The budget is getting close. Appropriations is fixin’ to meet. Caucuses are happening, too. The House comes back at 3:15. Stuff’s going down. ...
Exile on Jones Street - Jun 25
We're generally not agreeable about government-funded corporate welfare. As a rule, it makes us dyspeptic. But this idea currently up in the N.C. General Assembly, has our full support. According to the N.C. Film Office , in the past 27 years some 800 movies and 15 TV series have been filmed in our state, vastly enriching the local areas where they set up with jobs (temporary, but still), p...
WataugaWatch - Jun 25
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 - 4 clicks
