North Cacalacky Politics

Important Info on the Election

2006-10-24T20:45:00.000-04:00

All the important candidates profiled:

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Deconstructing the Scaife Foundation (Part 2 of 4)

2006-07-12T13:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I began by looking at the mission statement and giving patterns of one of the three charitable foundations operated by Richard M. Scaife. For background on the Allegheny Foundation please refer to this diary. Further background on the right-wing noise machine (and the funding behind it) is available at http://www.mediatransperancy.org/
Note, I am in no way affiliated with the folks at mediatransperancy.org, I simply appreciate their work and will reference it when applicable.

As I stated yesterday, the Scaife Foundations are three seperate entities which claim to have seperate purposes and causes. The purpose of this, and forthcoming diaries, is to explore the mission statements, giving patterns, and connections of these organizations in order to show how a small group of people are effecting the political discourse in this country. I do not claim to have the answer to the inevitable follow-up question, "What can we do about it?" That being said, I have faith in the power of our community, and that in words of Sun Tzu

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

From the Scaife Foundation Website, the Carthage Foundation lists its mission statement as follows:

The Carthage Foundation confines most of its grant awards to programs that will address public policy questions concerned with national and international issues. There are no geographical restrictions.

In its most recent annual report, 2004 Annual Report (.pdf), the Carthage Foundation lists over $23,000,000 in total assets, and over $5,600,000 in total disbursements for the year. The Carthage Foundation lists five officers for 2004, Richard M. Scaife (Chairman), R. Daniel McMichael (Secretary), Michael W. Gelba (Treasurer), Alexis J. Konkol (Asst. Secretary), and Roger W. Robinson Jr. (Asst. Treasurer).
Comparing the financials of the Carthage Foundation to that of the Allegheny Foundation we see that the Carthage Foundation has assets roughly half of that of the Allegheny Foundation, yet gives more than twice the amount in grants. This pattern in disbursements can also be seen in the annual reports from both organizations in 2003, 2002, and 2001.

Lacking the geographical restrictions (seemingly ignored) that we see in the Allegheny Foundation, the Carthage Foundation gives grants to right-wings causes across the country. The Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, a recipient of a $50,000 grant from the Allegheny Foundation also received an additional $110,000 from the Carthage Foundation. Other causes that the Carthage Foundation supports include the following groups:

Note that I am listing these groups only to give you, the reader, an idea of how much Mr. Scaife influences the American political process by way of his grants
The American Civil Rights Institute $40,000, this anti-affirmative action organization was behind Prop. 209 in California
The American Civil Rights Union $100,000, consider this organization the anti-ACLU, ALRU as they prefer to be called, lists several notable figures on its board: Ed Meese, Robert Bork, and Ken Tomlinson.
The American Enterprise Institute $300,000
American Foreign Policy Council $125,000
American Jewish Committee $60,000
America's Survival Inc. $35,000, anti-UN organization headed by Cliff Kincaid also of the oh so mis-named Accuracy In Media
The Association of Literary Scholars and Critics $30,000, a conservative literary group.
The Atlas Economic Research Foundation $50,000, a conservative economic think-tank
The Capital Research Center $35,000, a right-wing group that studies philanthropies from our side, excpet they get paid to do it LOL
The Cato Institute $65,000
The Center For Individual Rights $150,000, a right-wing legal outfit working to protect the rights of the oppressed white christian male
The Center for Media and Public Affairs $100,000, the right's bash the media superstore
The Cinema Foundation, Inc. $50,000 no link found
The Collegiate Network Inc. $90,000 The self-proclaimed home of conservative college journalism a division of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute
The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow $80,000 an "environmentalist" website supporting views such as Irradiation of food for the poor, it's a good thing, SUV's good for the environment, and my favorite The Rainforest who needs it anyways.
The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation $25,000
The Defenders of Property Rights $100,000 look for more headed to these guys post-Kelo
The Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America $35,000 an anti-imigration group
The Federalist Society $100,000, another cause celebre of the right
Federation for American Immigration Reform $250,000 another anti-immigration advocacy group
The Foreign Policy Research Institute $25,000
The Foundation for Cultural Review, Inc. $26,000 no link found
The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment $70,000 an oil industry backed "environmental group"
Free Congress Foundation $200,000 Paul Weyrich's twisted vision of an American theocracy
The George C. Marshall Institute $35,000
High Frontier $50,000 a truly scary group still living in the Cold War advocating SDI
The Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis $150,000
The Institute for Health Freedome $100,000 right-wing public health institute
The Institute for International Studies $60,000 unclear exactly who this group is
The Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation $150,000
The Institute on Religion and Democracy $75,000 better named the Institute for Theocracy but I digress
The Institute on Religion and Public Life $75,000 blending conservative Catholic and neo-con outlooks everywhere
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute $350,000 I could write four diaries on these guys alone
The Jamestown Foundation $125,000 Still supporting Soviet defectors
Judicial Watch $375,000 a well-known organization
The Landmark Legal Foundation $250,000
The Maldon Institute $460,000 note that no website for the Maldon could be found. This is a subversive organization known for falsely accusing people of being rioters such during the RNC convention, more info available here.
The Morley Publishing Group $25,000 which publishes the periodical Crisis
National Center for Public Policy Research $50,000 a conservative think-tank
National Defense University Foundation $50,000
National Institute for Public Policy $75,000
National Legal and Policy Center $100,000 anti-union, anti-civil rights right-wingers
National Strategy Forum $10,000
New Citizenship Project $85,000 brought to you buy PNAC
Patrick Henry Center $25,000

Note this list is not a complete list of the Carthage Foundation's 2004 grants. What I hope that the reader takes from this, is the need of an active, activist community to stand together. As we will see in forthcoming diaries, the rise of the dominance of right-wing think-tanks, and the relative lack of equivalents among those of us in the left, is a direct result of the investment of a few individuals, which make up the largest portion of their funding.

The consequence of this lack is that when John (or Jane) Q. Public, turn on CNN after a day of work, they are greeted with "experts" from such important sounding organizations as the Free Congress Foundation, or the National Center for Public Policy Research. With a relative lack of equivalents among the left, our message is being drowned out.

Forthcoming:
Part 3 The Sarah Scaife Foundation
Part 4 Richard Mellon Scaife, The Man Behind the Curtain

Update: My computer problems from earlier today seem to be solved thanks to all of you who read yesterday's enstallment.

My cousin died tonight

2005-07-18T00:29:00.000-04:00

He killed himself. I have no clue as to why. He had just gotten married (his second) to a very nice lady, who seemed to care deeply about him. He just got back from Scotland on his honeymoon a couple of months ago. I guess, I'm just confused as to what brings on that kind of desperation in a person. I will always remember his wedding, which can be best described as a renaissance fair meets a scottish wedding meets a traditional southern wedding. Needless to say the Baptists in the family were scratchin' their heads when the best man walked down the aisle with a huge broad sword strapped to his back. More than a few people didn't quite get the bagpipes either, but I have to admire he and his widow's commitment to have a wedding on their own terms. My fiance, took the most beautiful picture of the two of them after the ceremony; she definitely beat all the prints the "wedding photographer" managed to produce, we got hour long developing and blew up the real nice ones as a gift. Just confused.

Deconstructing the Scaife Foundation (Part 1 of 4)

2005-07-11T15:44:00.000-04:00

For those of you who have the stomach to spend time in the right-wing blogosphere, I am certain that you have come across the demonization of Mr. Soros. His name has been picked up by the public at large, but there hasn't been any real investigation into the backgrounds of the public policy foundations of the right-wing and its directors. It is time for that to change. For those of you who are interested in further background into the funding of the right-wing I invite you to check-out http://www.mediatransparency.org/ .

We begin with the Scaife Foundations. The Scaife Foundations are divided into three separate organizations, the Allegheny Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, and the Sarah Scaife Foundation. From The Scaife Foundation Website, "The Allegheny Foundation concentrates its giving in the Western Pennsylvania area and confines most of its grant awards to programs for historic preservation, civic development and education. The Foundation does not make grants to individuals. Proposals for the following are usually declined: event sponsorships, endowments, capital campaigns, renovations or government agencies." The Allegheny Foundation lists only two officers on its most recent annual report 2004 Annual Report(.pdf), Richard M. Scaife (Chairman) and Matthew A. Groll (Executive Director). The Foundation lists over $43,000,000 in total assets and presented grants in excess of $1,500,000 in 2004.
The Allegheny Foundation's policy statement would seem to indicate a non-partisan historical focus, yet in 2004 some of the notable recipients of grants include the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy a recipient of a $50,000 grant which in its mission statement calls itself,
"a non-profit research and education organization. Our mission is to defend the interests of taxpayers, citizens and businesses against an increasingly burdensome and intrusive government. To that end, we will formulate and advocate public policies that roll back the size and scope of local government as well as create a more accountable government. Our efforts will be guided by the principles of free enterprise, property rights, civil society and individual freedom that are the bedrock upon which this nation was founded." The fact that this seems to fall outside the historical raison d'être of Allegheny loses its importance when one studies the list of Board Members of the Allegheny Institute. Prominently listed are Michael Gleba Executive Vice President of the Sarah Scaife Foundation as a Member of the Board of Trustees, and we find on the Board of Advisors Mr. Matthew Groll, the aforementioned Executive Director of the Allegheny Foundation. Additional grants totaling $35,000 went to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) a right-wing organization which writes legislation making its way throughout legislatures across the country. A $225,000 grant to proven hack and liar David Horowitz and his Center for the Study of Popular Culture. The new cool right-wing eugenics program Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (C.R.A.C.K.), the program which pays drug-addicted women to become sterilized but offers no drug-treatment per se, was a recipient of $50,000 from the Allegheny Foundation, further information on CRACK is available here. Another aside on CRACK is that its a California based "charity" (I use that term very loosly when attached to this organization) far outside the range of Western Penn, but I digress... Addtional monies were given to the publisher of that incredible read "It Takes a Family," by Sen. Rick "Man-Dog" Santorum (R-PA), the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. In all fairness, it's entirely plausible that we wouldn't be blessed with such an interesting read without the help of the ISI.
In conclusion, the Allegheny Foundation, like many Scaife foundations, as readers of the forthcoming diaries will see, plays fast and loose with its own mission statement by giving to causes outside of its stated purpose.
ForthcomingPart 2 The Carthage FoundationPart 3 The Sarah Scaife FoundationPart 4 Richard Mellon Scaife, The Man Behind the Curtain

"Religious right should aid recruiting."

2005-06-22T16:31:00.000-04:00

Gleefully Lifted from Pam's House Blend

Robert N. Conley of Chandlersville, OH sent in a slamming letter to his local paper, the Zanesville Times-Recorder, "Religious right should aid recruiting." I was laughing out loud.
Army recruiting quotas are not being met. Now, in this time of need, the nation's focus should rightfully focus on the clerics of the religious right: Dobson, Robertson, Falwell, Parsley, etc. Can they focus? Can they refocus? Can they get the job done? Perhaps many of these clerics are hesitant to focus on military recruiting because they are former unfocused draft-dodgers. They need to get past their unfocused youthful follies. They need to refocus their focus on military recruiting.

According to religious-right reports (not propaganda), at least two to three million potential recruits have attended taxpayer-funded meetings, where they have "signed" one of the most important of all pledges: No sex before marriage. These are ideal military recruits. Certainly, the clerics can make changes where the lady pledges can focus on appropriate gender-specific tasks under the focus of their natural masters. This clerical focus should focus exclusively on the Army and Marine Corps, where all the killing is focused. Let those other people (you know who I mean) populate the Navy and the Air Force.

Yes, it is important to get everyone in the world to admit that the entire universe is 6006 (some silly heretics say 6022, others 6044) years old. And, yes, it is very important to do away with all science, and all of its complications, by just letting our all-knowing clerics explain everything to us by using the simplistic, catch-all concept of "intelligent" design. And, of course, it is important to replace all judges with robots by Robertson.

But, right now, the focus needs to be on military recruiting. Our country needs to come first. It's time for our religious right clerics to focus on military recruiting. In brief, it's time to refocus the focus.

Let's have the gays were little pink armbands... Sad

2005-06-13T15:27:00.000-04:00

Christian Coalition: Gays Should Wear Warning Labels
New York City) The leader of a conservative Christian lobby group says that gays should be required to wear warning labels.

"We put warning labels on cigarette packs because we know that smoking takes one to two years off the average life span, yet we 'celebrate' a lifestyle that we know spreads every kind of sexually transmitted disease and takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports," said Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the New York Christian Coalition.

The journal regularly publishes articles described by many mainstream psychologists as misleading and faulty. The homosexuality morbidity study was conducted by the conservative anti-gay Family Research Institute.

Banuchi called LGBT Pride celebrations held in New Paltz, north of New York City, and other areas of the country on the weekend "sad".

He called on people to "pray for those who are deceived by the lies of popular culture, who are caught up in a destructive lifestyle, and for the children who are being zealously evangelized by radical homosexuals."

It is not the first time gays have been told they should wear labels. In Nazi Germany gays were forced to wear the pink triangle to differentiate them from other internees at concentration camps.

(snip)

"I just don't know what anybody was thinking of. My jaw dropped when I heard it," Dan Berkowitz, a member of the West Hollywood Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board, told the West Hollywood Independent. "I'm sure she is a very nice girl and her mother is a very nice woman, but what they have to do with gay pride in West Hollywood or anywhere else is utterly beyond me."

Now let me start by saying that I'm not gay, but if you don't find this troubling something is wrong with you.

A truly dangerous thing is occuring in this country, and this is but a symptom. Conservatives are not just trying to destroy the civil rights of homosexuals, they are trying to roll back the advances of the Enlightenment. Schools are being formed to train students not in knowledge and truth but in rhetoric and ideology. Case in point an Ohio State dissertation defense for a noted intelligent designer. It was called off when it was discovered that his dissertation committee didn't have any experts in the field pertaining to his work.

And from Stephen Jay Gould's Website more background on which rock these people crawled out from under.

My point is that a line in the sand has to be drawn. The words "First they came for the Jews..." have never rang truer. The education system in this country is being subverted, and knowledge and reason are being replaced with faith (which don't get me wrong is a perfectly fine thing to have, I myself consider myself Christian) and ideology, neither of which belong in an educational setting (except maybe a theology class, but I digress).

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Presidential Guest Mary Carey's Work

2005-06-13T00:57:00.000-04:00

For those who do not know, our President is having an extra-special guest at an official RNC fundraising dinner. To celebrate Ms. Carey's work I've included some links... NONE OF THESE LINKS ARE WORK SAFE

Tasteful Nudity
More Tasteful Nudity
The Official Website
Batteries Not Included

Now when you consider the cost of security, transportation, etc. for the president it's nice to see our tax dollars being used so wisely...

War Support at a Low / Walter Jones (R-NC) Change of Heart

2005-06-12T22:51:00.000-04:00

Now keep in mind, this is the genius who brought "freedom" fries to the Capital, introduced a bill allowing preachers the right to endorse political candidates without losing their church's tax exempt status. In general those of us in NC consider him one of the true wing-nuts. His district encompasses all the major military instalations in eastern NC (Lejeune, Cherry Point, Bragg) and until today has been known for the inability to think anything resembling a progressive thought. Now please don't misunderstand me, I don't suggest that we sing hymns of praise for him, but rather this is but another symptom of a lame duck president. So without further ado, from Newsday.com

GOP Congressman Wants Troops Out of Iraq

By Associated Press

June 12, 2005, 4:39 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A Republican congressman who voted for the Iraq war said Sunday that "we've done about as much as we can do" in the country and that the reason for invading Iraq has proven false.

Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina will be among the lawmakers introducing legislation this week calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq. "When I look at the number of men and women who have been killed -- it's almost 1,700 now, in addition to close to 12,000 have been severely wounded -- and I just feel that the reason of going in for weapons of mass destruction, the ability of the Iraqis to make a nuclear weapon, that's all been proven that it was never there," Jones said on ABC's "This Week."

President Bush has said any timetable for withdrawal would encourage insurgents to wait for the foreign troops to leave, but Jones said he believed Iraqis can defend their own country.

His stance leaves Jones sided with Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the most prominent Democrat calling for a timetable to leave Iraq. Jones said he had not discussed the issue with Kennedy.

Two years ago, Jones helped lead an effort to make sure Capitol Hill cafeterias retooled their menus to advertise "freedom fries" instead of french fries to protest France's opposition to the war.

Jones said he began changing his mind about the war after attending the funeral in April 2003 for Sgt. Michael Bitz, 31, who was killed in the southern city of Nasiriyah. He recalled that Bitz's widow read the last letter she received from her husband.

"And that really has been on my mind and my heart ever since," he said.

Jones, whose district includes Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, has written condolence letters to the families of more than 1,300 service people killed in Iraq, and posters outside his congressional office show the faces of those killed.

Seems pretty resonable to me, you know we can't seem to fill our recruitment goals. An overwhelming majority of Americans want to get out of Iraq. I wonder what our friends in freeper land have to say about this...

From the best and brightest of Freeper Land

dupe

Just like Vietnam the left-wing fascist anti-American cowards are starting to show their true colors. They must have made a pact with the terrorist so that they will not attack them when they are free to take over the middle east and attack us in our homeland. (I love it when they're too ignorant to do any research and just instinctively attack their own)

Sure, lets just announce the date that we will bail out... that'll sure defeat those terrorists !

This is just exposing how many politicians are mental midgets. How many are so plain stupid as to be out manuvered by reporters?

How many are just being patsies for their cocktail, inside the beltway friends on the other side of the isle?

Seriously if you ever meet politicians in real life you realize how intellectually challenge some of them really are.

Sometimes a trip to freeper land is worth it, huh go figure.

Why High Speed Access is Necessary

2005-06-07T18:13:00.000-04:00

Because I can't stand to wait for a page to load.

Back again!?!

2005-05-26T15:16:00.000-04:00

Well, the move has been completed and although I'm only on dial-up blah! I am trying to get cable access hooked up again although it looks like it will probably be the 7th before that happens. Having trouble staying on top of things until then.

Supreme Court Pre-Opt

2005-05-18T11:38:00.000-04:00

In listening to the current debate over the nukular option (note the proper Presidential spelling), it is obvious to all that this will be the issue which leads to the next Supreme Court Nominee. The Democrats and the progressive movement on a whole, has been far to reactive, and although I think that it will be necessary to direct our attention at the task at hand. I feel that we must also think a few steps ahead.

The Cons make a big deal over how well qualified these nominees are, and when it comes time to make a SCOTUS appointment, will probably look for someone a little to the right of Atilla the Hun. What can the Senate Democrats, and the party on a whole do about this. Beat them to the punch. Develop a list of SC nominees, Republican, moderates, even a couple of somewhat less repugnant conservatives who although we may not personally care for, are not the political equivalent of nominating James Dobson himself to the SC. We know that they are out there, after all 200 of Bush's nominees from the last four years have already been nominated. This list should be made in good-faith with judges which the Republicans would have a hard time saying No to, though I'm sure that the wing-nuts will complain about the Legislative stepping on the Executive's toes, strangely when it's the President butting into the Senate its okay, but I digress.

So am I living in a dream world or is this something which could conceivabley gain traction? I'm not suggesting that this is acted upon now, but rather another card to be played when the time is right.

Charlotte supports gay rights

2005-05-18T08:47:00.000-04:00

Well in a party-line vote the board of county commisioners voted to end discrimination against people based on sexual-orientation, Bill James not withstanding. Of course, Mr. James did have the best one-liner of the night, "A man's backside or rear end is not for another man's private parts," which is yet another example of Mr. James' latent homosexuality. The man thinks about male on male action more then any gay man I've ever met.

Busy day...

2005-05-18T00:37:00.000-04:00

There's a lot to cover today, and there will be even more tomorrow, so let's start with the national scene.

George Galloway... This guy just spray farted on Sen. Smilin' Norm Coleman's lunch, and although Galloway may be tainted goods, I for one am glad to finally hear truth be told in Congress. Galloway had the cross-hair on Smilin' Norm and he didn't take any prisoners. From what I've been able to dig up on both the prosecutions side and Galloways side I've come up with this:

The key document used to show Mr. Galloway's supposed involvement with the Oil-for-Food Programme(sic) was the an obvious forgery.

Note the different font for his name, how it is typed on a diagonal. If the Cons can get their panties in a wad over the TANG-CBS debacle, this one is ours.

Secondly, several of the key Iraqi figures who produced the documents have either been shown to be liars (Ahkmed Chalabi), or admitted so themselves (Sahjad Ahmad Ali). Note that Mr. Ali himself has already declared that this list is a forgery.

Other evidence against Mr. Galloway possibly came as a result of tortue, by the admission of the US Government.

In short, Mr. Galloway was convicted by this Congress before he even had a chance to make his case. As Mr. Galloway himself said, "Even in Kafka there was a semblence of a trial." Judge Mr. Galloway by his own words.

A few thoughts on the right-wing's homophobia

2005-05-13T12:26:00.000-04:00

This is a comment I left at Pam's houseblend and I figured I'd leave it here too...

Maybe it's me, but it just seems that maybe the reason the Cons are so afraid of sexuality in any form is their own proclivity for deviance. It seems each time I boot up the computer there is some new story about a republican living a double life, having an affair, or hiding his homosexuality while publically denouncing it. Could it be that the Con condemnation of homosexual conduct stems from only seeing it in the deviant forms in which they participate in it.
Now I'm not one to actively condemn what someone does in the confines of their own bedroom, but when we have a man, a doctor, who anally rapes his wife after medicating her, we have a swinging UN nominee, a prostitute posing as a journalist (our friend Mr. Guckert too many links to post), an anti-abortion activist admitting to beastiality, and the list goes on.

So I guess the final premise of my arguement is that maybe the reason Cons hate homosexuals is simply all they are exposed to is simply abhorrent behavior and that the thought of two people actually loving, and respecting each other doesn't cross their minds.

Sorry for the long rant, its just been making me wonder lately. I in no means wish to imply that homosexuality = deviant behavior, but rather the Con's behavior behind closed doors which tends toward the deviant leads to their hypocritical moral outrage...

I'm back....

2005-05-09T23:56:00.000-04:00

Well, after a nice little break I've come back and I'm ready to start back up. Look for me to host the Tar-Heel Tavern some time in the near future...

Judicial Appointment Battles

2005-04-13T01:48:00.000-04:00

Well another blow in the battle over the future of the judiciary in this country. It looks like Democrats are not going to bend over backwards, or forwards for that matter. The plan this Con administration has for our judiciary is scary, and the lengths they will go to accomplish it is nothing short of frightening. With Senators and Congressmen whipping their Con bases up in arms first over the Terri Schiavo affair (there's a nice little article on the Terri Schiavo at Yahoo). The cards have been dealt and it's not entirely clear who will prevail.

Obviously, the strongest hand is in Sen. "Kitty-Killer" Frist's hands. Needing only 50 senators of his 55 senator majority definitely puts the odds in his favor. But Sen. Reid is not backing down, and I have to say it's nice to see a senator with some spine. Sen. Reid does have an ace in the hole, unanimous consent, the life blood of the Senate. The rules of the Senate are based almost completely on the assumption that the minority party, will not object to every procedural move. Mr. Reid has threatened to withdraw this consent to all no national security related items if Senate rules are changed by the nuklear (note proper Presidental spelling) option. Maybe this will get me flamed, I don't know, but I'm tired of the Democrat "nice-guy." I think that that particular image just doesn't play well, and it makes Democrats look a little too weak.

So that's where we stand right now, does Harry Reid have the cojones to withdraw consent if the nuklear option is pursued? We know that Sen. Frist has the cojones to vivisect cats, and lie to animal shelters but does he have it in him to know that he single-handedly shut down the business of the Senate, not to mention destroy any sense of bi-partisanship still left in this government.

But I digress...

Some members of the African American community have already spoken out about the absolutely atrocious record of Judge Terrance Boyle. I understand that the Republicans feel that they have to put any judge who's remotely associated with Jesse Helms in a position of power (except his grand-daughter for some reason, from the Blue Lemur). I personally think that whatever a judge's opinions are they should at least be decent judges. Now what I mean by that is consider, Justice Scalia, now I admit lately he's been kind-of wingnut batty (must have his Opus-Dei clice belt on too tight), but his opinions have always been well reasoned and written. Despite what I may think of him, I must respect him for his strongly argued positions. Then we have Judge Boyles, a man who has an atrocious overturn record, a horrible record on civil rights... Oh well, time will tell what happens.

Lottery

2005-04-12T00:33:00.000-04:00

I felt that the time was right to finally weigh in on the lottery. I have to admit that my feelings are mixed at best. I recognize that the state is losing heaps of money from people (myself being one of them from time to time) who purchase lottery tickets from either SC, GA, TN, and VA. I am also hesitant to use an everybody else is doing it... arguement to justify a lottery, which let me reiterate to which I am not specifically opposed.

Having said that, I think that it becomes the responsibility of the state to truly educate our citizens on what probability really is. Playing a couple dollars a week is not going to have a serious effect on a person's finances, playing twenty on the other hand...

That's the crux of the issue, the lottery really makes its money on the stupidity and hope of the people who play it. Is it worth it, time will tell.

NC State Rep. John Rhodes, panties in wad, again...

2005-04-07T16:56:00.000-04:00

I really have to hand it to John Rhodes, he has really made himself into the republican attack dog of the General Assembly. First, he heaps loads of criticism on Speaker Black, for not pushing hard enough for hearings on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Deconsolidation push, and now it's Speaker Black is moving to quick in an attempt to squash his legislation. From Rep. Rhodes PR release,

For Immediate Release:

Legislative Wire: Black (Mecklenburg) Moves In For Quick Kill Attempt On CMS Deconsolidation Legislation.

Raleigh, N.C. - In an apparent attempt to silence Mecklenburg citizens and to deny them their vote in November over the matter of deconsolidation of the embattled and struggling Charlotte Mecklenburg School system, Speaker Jim Black from Matthews passed the word down to House Education Chair Rep. Marvin Lucas to immediately hear H.B. 1017 "The Mecklenburg Education Freedom Act" today immediately following session.

Citizens and local elected leaders desiring to be present and speak in favor of this important legislation before the committee in Raleigh were assured by the Speaker's office and the committee chairman that this bill would be taken up next week giving citizens due notice to be present on an issue that is so important to them.

Additionally, little notice was given to the bill sponsors of the committee meeting which has at this point not been officially called, only an informal notice by the House Education chairman of the special meeting. The formal notice of the House Education committee meeting is anticipated to be annouced on the House floor during session today 15 minutes prior to the Education committee meeting convenes.

Rep. Rhodes states, "It's clear that the Speaker from Matthews in Mecklenburg is working as hard as he can in lock step with the education bureaucrats and against the parents and students of Mecklenburg". "Speaker Black should be ashamed of himself for pulling this last minute stunt and working against the citizens of Mecklenburg and their right to be heard and vote on such an important matter".

"Special discretionary funds under investigation, special meetings, secret meetings by a task force, how can the public have any confidence in a system that operates like this." "The Speaker will have to answer to the parents of Mecklenburg's students why he chose to work against this measure and their vote for the future of their school system". Rep. Rhodes stated.

Now I'm not actually against the deconsolidation. In fact I'm all in favor of it, we can let the parents in North Meck have their kids taught creationism as opposed to science, and heck maybe we can have some special North Meck hospitals where they base the medicine on prayer and creationism. We'll let people who believe in evolution have the hospitals where science is practiced. Seems fair to me

Secret Freeper Mind-Control Project

2005-04-07T01:26:00.000-04:00

Well, this news that the Schiavo "political opportunity" memo actually came from the office of Sen. Martinez (R-Fl) offers those of us on the left side of things a great chance to work on the minds of some of those poor mis-led individuals on the right. So I have begun my work trying to infiltrate some of the Con boards, and although I have to maintain my cover, try and get these people to think in a way they never have before, that maybe Republicans aren't so great and noble. Try and guess who I am.

Why I am sick and tired of David Horowitz

2005-04-03T21:25:00.000-04:00

I am sick and tired of David Horowitz and his lying. Even here at ECU, which I admit is not especially known for its academic rigor, there is a small group of individuals who are determined to end true free speech and are instead trying to leave us with the "Biblically Approved" speech of this new dangerous Con movement. The whole assertion that social/christian conservatives receive poor grades simply because of their political beliefs is bull. As someone who has sat in classes with what I consider more than my share of conservatives [and *shudder* I was actully conservative myself in my younger days] I can honestly say that I have determined that there are two types of conservatives at ECU. There is a small, quiet, thoughtful minority of conservative students who put out good work, and have excellent reasoning skills. I count several of these people as friends. Then there are the wackos who believe that its not their stupidity, but rather their political beliefs that get them bad grades. To be honest, I think that some of these people don't really care what they write, they're just looking for a better grade and are too lazy to study or do the work.

The wackos are the people who get pissed when they make F's on the biology quizes and exams on evolution. I have one friend who made a vigorous defense of the young earth hypothesis (note hypothesis not theory, a hypothesis is a tentative theory about the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena;). He got a B, why because he had a sound arguement. A simple, "In the book of Genesis, God created the world in 6 days" does not cut the mustard and deserves the F. Which brings me to Horowitz.

The man lies and poorly. His college based activism began with the story of supposed anti-conservative bias at University of Northern Colorado which was promptly found to be outright fraud. See MediaMatters.org for a nice discussion of Horowitz's tactics. The essay which started it all is available at SAF's website. Note that the student didn't even answer the question asked. In fact several conservative bloggers have come foward and agreed that that essay is one horrid piece of writing. See here and here. Now fastfoward to the present day.

The wonderful News and Observer has decided to tell the oh so sad story of a young conservative state senator who like Mr. Smith going to Washington has gone to Raleigh to make sure that those evil liberals don't corrupt the minds of our precious (and pernicious) youthful conservatives. State Sen. Andrew Brock has come to the rescue of those yockels (and I suspect future writers at the esteemed freerepuglic) who are determined to go through college without thinking a single original thought. I've got to say who can blame them, if a party all night, sleep all day C student can grow up to be president. If a so-called doctor who isn't sure if the HIV virus is spread through sweat and tears, who spent medical school butchering kittens which he lied to animal control and humane shelters to obtain, and who makes a diagnosis by way of a video tape (hey maybe Rush can get his perscriptions filled again) can become Senate Majority Leader. Come to think of it, maybe I'm in the wrong boat.

But I digress, I guess what really gets me is just that this whole Students for Academic Freedom thing is built upon lie after lie. If there really was a problem with students with opposing political views getting poor grades, I would stand up with them. But it is all a fiction. To prove a point, I called the local contact for SAF and proceeded to complain about a (fictional) Con Economics professor who gave me a bad grade because I wouldn't bash Keynesian economics. After a not so Christain or polite, "&*%$ YOU!" from the esteemed leader of the local SAF, my mind about the even remotely possible good-intentions of this organization went to pot. Thank God that the Democrats control the General Assembly and that bill is DOA.

GOP Culture of Death

2005-04-02T03:29:00.000-05:00

Well, you only have to turn the tv on now to see discussion on who's dying and where. It's like since the GOP had to get on its' high horse with Terri Schiavo, the RWRC media cannot stop this disgusting death watch. From graphic discussions of end of life biological discussions, to outright speculation on the health of several public figures, I don't think tv has ever made me this offended. This is coming from a guy raised in front of the tv. Obviously, this post is a direct result of cable news' disgusting "Pope Death Watch '05" campaign, but I'll also throw in a real disgust at the coverage of Jerry Falwell also. It seems to me we ought to be a culture that is fixated on life and helping those around us. Personally I hope to be able to die with far more dignity than has been allowed any of these public figures lately.

NC Senate '06

2005-03-29T00:27:00.000-05:00

Erskine Bowles will never win in NC. He's a nice guy, I waited on him a couple of times at a restaurant in Charlotte I used to work at. The problem with the NC is there is a very large portion of the population who to put it mildly are anti-intellectual and when they see someone like Bowles who fits the part it doesn't matter what he does they are not going to vote for him. I wish I could count the number of times I heard people disparage him not because of his views per se but rather his appearance which as a egghead I'm proud to count him as a egghead as well. Yes I know that we should put ourselves above disparagements like that, and let's be honest about the voters of NC.

As for Easley, I think that the gov may have his sights on the presidency. I know that his name hasn't been bandied around like Richardson, Clinton, et al, but from what I've seen come out of Raleigh I think that he may be trying to position himself for, at least, the possibility of running. Having said that I think he has the potential to make a very candidate, but I know that he's not my particular choice.
Some of the possible candidates who you may see run against Liddy, Ms. Plastic Surgery 2004 Dole

[Note: That picture has not been doctored in any way, but I digress]

State Sen. Tony Rand who is the majority leader
Lt. Gov Bev Perdue (strongest Dem IMHO)

Unfortunetly there's a tempest in a teapot scandal brewing in which the Democratic Leadership of both the State House and Senate used some discretionary funds to provide jobs/favors. The fact that this was also occuring and has occured for years (when the NC GOP was in charge), doesn't seem to matter. Interestingly, the split between the hard right and the more moderate Republicans led by Rep. Dan Morgan seems to be widening. The Democratic Leadership has caved and pledged to no longer use these funds while Rep. Morgan has so far refused.

Central Church of God and the big reverse

2005-03-24T00:27:00.000-05:00

Well as a former attendee of Central I'm glad to see that they have reversed there absolutely backward position of refusing funding to non-profits which take money from Catholics. I guess Loran decided that he really didn't need a new Harley this time.

Back from spring break

2005-03-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

Lots of madness both statewide and federally to talk about...

North Mecklenburg High

2005-03-10T23:38:00.000-05:00

North Mecklenburg has been the scene of some pretty ugly protests lately by the ever so righteous Flip Benham. I've decided to be a little proactive on this particular event and I've decided that I'm going to visit these people next week and possibly try to enlighten them. I know that I have exactly nil chance of outshouting them, so I'm hoping that I have a chance of distributing some literature by such authors as John Dear and Jim Wallis. We'll see what happens

Just read them you'll thank me

2005-03-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

Playing Politics with Jesus and Defining a Compassionate Conservative are both by Teddy Lee Brown. They are incredible works of prose and I admit could be a little bit difficult to read, but I think that in questioning ourselves we put ourselves in a far better place. There's also a nice exert of "God's Politics" by Jim Wallis at Alternet.org. I would love nothing more than for Wallis to achieve the noteriety of the right's demagogues preaching what I am not afraid to say the true word of the gospels.

National Intrests

2005-03-08T19:25:00.000-05:00

I don't normally make posts on national issues here. There are far more effective mediums to do that. However, I've got to complain about Walter Jones ill conceived bill to remove the requirements that churches not specifically endorse political figures. Apparently, Rep. Jones dreams of a theocracy where people like the Landover Baptist Church make the rules. Now I know that Landover is a parody site. But what is parody but a reflection of the truth.

Why the liberal media pisses me off

2005-03-08T00:44:00.000-05:00

Just a fun little rant for tonight...

I know it always pisses me off how the media brings up how Dick Armey, and John Ascroft dodged the draft. Or how Bob Barr got caught cheating on his wife. Or when Fmr. Rep. Robert Bauman (R Md) was prosecuted for having sex with an underage boy. What really irks me is when they talk about William Bennets gambling addiction. The man wrote the "Book of Virtues" they should cut him some slack.

Then they start talking about Bill Frist and how he lied to adopt cats from the Humane Society and performed experiments on them like Dr. Mengele. If it's not Bill Frist they're talking about it's Newt Gingrich. I don't know about you but if my wife started whinning all the time, "oh I've got cancer boo-hoo, whine, cry," I'd cheat on her too. I don't see what the big deal is. Next thing you know they're talking about Rush Limbaugh's use of illegal narcotics. The man just went to Afganistan where the heroin is made to speak to troops. Who cares if he publicly called for all drug users to be put to death.

Next thing you know it's Oliver North and his obstruction of Congress. It's not like he's Bill Clinton, his obstruction of Congres was much worse because his involved sex, and sex is much more evil than supporting the peaceful people of Iran.

Oh so then we hear about Bob Packwood, well if you ask me those women had it coming to you. I mean with a sexy piece of man-meat like Packwood he could even make me go gay.

These damn liberals always spewing their hatred of America and its laws.

My latest response...

2005-03-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I just got my latest response from a public official. I wrote State Rep. John Rhodes on H330 and H393 which I've previously blogged here. I feel that in order to be fair to Rep. Rhodes I'll post both my email to him and his polite and curteous reply. So first my letter....

Dear Rep. Rhodes,

It has come to my attention that the House will in the future be considering H330, the "Living Wage Act," and H392, which amends the definition of malt beverages used by the ABC Board. I strongly urge you to support both pieces of legislation.

The "Living Wage Act," lets North Carolina show that we are a state that cares about the welfare of its least fortunate workers. Having a higher minimum wage will possibly allow many of our citizens to move from public assistance to independence.

H392, as you know, will amend the definition of malt beverages that the ABC Board uses to regulate the importation and sales of alcoholic beverages. The current definition prevents the importation and sale of "high-point" beers. In my opinion the consumer should have right to choose which beer he or she would like to drink.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Drew

and now for the dramatic conclusion...

Drew,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me in regards to this issue. Please feel free to contact me anytime. I am always pleased to hear from you.

With appreciation,

John

Rep. John W. Rhodes (R) Mecklenburg
Lucille Carter Legislative Assistant
North Carolina House of Representatives

Wow, when I consider the time it took him to respond to my letter I know he does care about the opinions of his constituents.

The assault on our right to take our grievances to court...

2005-03-04T01:11:00.000-05:00

Well I know that this is technically a blog on the politics of NC but I have to go south of the border on this one... Our friends in the SC State House have decided that your medical malpractice lawsuit is frivolous and well even if you get by this incredibly restrictive standard guess what, no matter how egregious the doctor's conduct was (e.g. you lost the life of a loved one, etc...) the max damage is $350,000. Will this even cover your court costs I don't know. Thanks to Jeff for pointing this one out at the Charlotte Observer

Still no word from the good State Sen. Graham, and State Rep. Rhodes. It's easy to take from Rhodes, but I have to admit I expected a little bit better response from Graham...

The thing that really kills me is that for all intents and purposes it's like Charlotte doesn't even care what's happening in Raleigh and vice versa for that matter. But I digress...

A new bill has been introduced in both the State House and Senate H 424 (S 274) is a Republican backed bill meant to essentially tie the legislatures hands in the future in using state funds. It puts a cap on the growth of the budget and calls for a super majority (3/5)ths vote to override it. After all with the wonderful public schools, roads, etc. in the state God forbid we want to spend a little bit more on improvements. If this one passes it will go to the voters during the May 2006 elections. I certainly hope to never see it.

Over in the Senate there's another bill to place new restrictions on obtaining driver's licenses the actual document has yet to be posted though, look for more on S 419 soon...

New Legislative Shenanigans...

2005-03-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

Just a couple of pieces of new legislation to discuss...

H330 Living Wage Act, it will increase the min wage in the state to $6.15 and upward over the next couple of years. I certainly hope that this piece of progressive legislation makes its way through...

H392 Amends the definition of malt beverages. Now I don't know about you, but I love beer, and not just Bud or Miller. So it kills me that some of the best beers in the world can't be legally imported to NC because of our ABC regulations. Now granted most high-point beers (aka barley wine) aren't that good but still if that's your proverbial cup of tea have at it.

New Drama in State Super Race

2005-03-01T18:42:00.000-05:00

Some more news of the upcoming battle between the legislature and the state supreme court. Now, I do know that the State Supreme court will be acting more or less in a partisan fashion, I'm not certain if the Dem's in the state house should follow... Read more here, from the News and Observer. Also from the News and Observer some deeply disturbing plans from Sen. Basnight here. This is a dangerous move, don't mess with a man's beer.

Gov. Easley's State of the State

2005-02-22T23:38:00.000-05:00

Well I hate to sound like I'm on the Easley band wagon but I don't really see too much that I oppose in this. Of course we can count on our Con friends fighting him all the way. Sec. Troxler (R) has publicly declared his intention to fight against any raise in taxes calling for, get this... spending restraint! Imagine that a Con calling for spending restraint, send that man to Congress maybe he can tell his Con brothers in arms a little something about spending restraint...

Meek = Dean maybe...

2005-02-20T23:09:00.000-05:00

Well NC Dems just elected a new state party head, and I have to say that I for one am happy to see the same trend we saw emerge with the election of Howard Dean reemerge here in NC with Jerry Meeks. Now in all fairness, the NC Dems have done a pretty good job on the state level, and I'm looking forward to seeing that trend continue on the national level. Having said that it still is remarkable to have a relative outsider elected chair. I hope that his election will be a continuation of Chairman Dean's strategy of fighting in every district.

Legislature's take on outsourcing

2005-02-20T22:04:00.000-05:00

So I've got to ask the question... Recognizing that we are in an economy where our currency is information, what are we going to do when we out-source those jobs too? The service industry can only support so many people... Then there's the specter of the inverted yield curve on the horizon see here. So my question is when are people going to wake up and see that the company's bottom line may not be the best thing for the country! I'm not saying that we need to ditch capitalism, but one thing is crystal clear from history, periods in which the corporation was viewed as superior to the individual (i.e. worker) lead to one thing problems. In this time of media consolidation it seems to me that people have forgotten the history of this country during the laissez-faire time of President McKinley. Obviously, there are many more far less rosy views of McKinley available, but I think that the tone in the White House web page gives a clue to how glowing those are, see here. An interesting aside, McKinley's imperialist venture into the Philippines and its consequences had very similar effects (i.e. the rise of a repressive regime followed by a vehemently anti-American regime) to what we are seeing in Iraq, see what Howard Zinn (a personal hero of mine) has to say about it here. Yes, I'd say the pro-business, imperialist views of McKinley would be welcomed in this White House.

But I digress, the NC Legislature will hopefully look at a bill, originally proposed by frm. State Sen. Eric Reeves, that will require, "written permission from consumers before their personal financial information could be used in a foreign call center," taken from the Charlotte Observer. Get this, this bill gives YOU the right to determine if you want a call-center in a foreign country to have access to YOUR personal identification, i.e. SSN, drivers license number... You know, in this era of concern about "the terrorist getting id's and sneakin' into our country," you'd think we'd want to hold our cards a little closer. Malcolm Graham who conveniently happens to be my state Senator is the vice-chair of the committee which will look at this bill. Needless to say he will be hearing from me.

Gov. Easley's Budget AP Wire..

2005-02-19T02:45:00.000-05:00

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/10930717.htm

A democratic governor proposing a reasonably balanced budget... Thank god we don't have any of those spend and spend republicans in office.

Environmentalist 1 Navy 0

2005-02-19T02:27:00.000-05:00

Well at least some of the laws of this country are being upheld despite the best efforts of the republican party

From the AP

Federal judge bars Navy from landing field work
EMERY P. DALESIO
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. - A federal judge Friday blocked the Navy from working on a proposed landing field in eastern North Carolina until it completes environmental impact studies for the site.
U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle agreed with environmentalists and local officials that work on the field should be halted while the Navy takes another look at possible complications from and impact on a nearby wildlife refuge that is the winter home to tens of thousands of migratory swans, geese and other birds.
The Navy wants to use the planned facility as a place for new F/A-18 Super Hornet jets to practice aircraft carrier takeoffs and landings.
Under Boyle's order, the Navy may not carry out any planning, development, or construction of an outlying landing field in Washington and Beaufort Counties "without first complying with its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the Navy to thoroughly consider the environmental consequences of its action," Boyle said.
"In the face of the Navy's failure to comply with NEPA, and in consideration of the relative harms, the balance of equities weighs heavily in favor of a permanent injunction," Boyle wrote.
The Navy argued at a hearing before Boyle last month that the landing field is crucial to national security.
A Navy spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The Navy wants to build the landing field on 30,000 acres, but opponents complain that the Navy did not adequately consider the harm to migratory birds at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and the threat to pilots posed by collisions with masses of birds.
In their suits, environmental groups and the two affected counties argue that the Navy picked the site for political reasons and massaged environmental studies to justify the choice. They said Navy leaders sought to base Super Hornets at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia while relieving noise at the existing Fentress Landing Field, so they chose a site in North Carolina for practices and assigned two squadrons to North Carolina.
Whether Boyle's injunction will survive a possible appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., remains to be seen. Last month, that court reversed a preliminary injunction Boyle had placed on real estate and planning activity for the field.
At that time, the Navy said it had bought 1,157 acres of the 3,000 acres needed for the field itself for $3.7 million.
"Without an injunction, the Navy can continue to expend millions of dollars and other resources on the development of the OLF project" at the 23,000-acre site without first complying with federal environmental law, Boyle said. "If land acquisition is allowed to proceed, additional landowners will be permanently displaced, tax revenue will be permanently lost, and the fragile habitat" will be disrupted.
"While this case has been pending, during the periods when an injunction has not been in place, the Navy has proceeded with the development of the OLF. The Navy's actions have been taken within a context that does not conform to the requirements of the law," the ruling said.

Great diary from dailykos

2005-02-19T02:17:00.000-05:00

The Christian Democrat Home Journal posted this little nugget of wisdom, without a doubt separation of church and state has gone out the window... And the "Hon." Walter Jones... Don't get me started I've spent way too much time down east...

http://christiandem.blogspot.com/2005/02/right-wingers-snowed-by-morning-star.html

Really a great article..

My drive from Greenville to Charlotte

2005-02-19T00:36:00.000-05:00

Well for those of you who don't know I regularly commute between Charlotte and Greenville (NC). Today I decided to endorse without reservation, H12 which calls for the far left lane on any highway (i.e. 4+ lanes to be for passing only). Now I am by no means a speed demon barreling down the road, I tend to go with the flow of traffic more than anything, but after 5 hours on a drive that normally takes 4 I can't take it any longer. People the Left lane is for passing, it's not that hard to understand... On larger highways if you find yourself being passed on both the left and the right, move into a right hand lane... You know the ones for SLOWER traffic. Anyways, I'm going to support this bill and I hope you my loyal readers will do so also.

Why it's important that we organize...

2005-02-18T10:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a tidbit on why even the state level stuff is important in my eyes....

countering ballots...

Thoughts on afganistan

2005-02-18T10:25:00.000-05:00

Well a friend of mine in school just showed me some pics he got from his brother who's special ops in afganistan, and it got me thinking... Is it really our duty to be nation builders? Our forefathers fought for our freedom, is democracy a gift to be given or more ominously imposed? Don't get me wrong, I truly and honestly respect and appreciate the fact that our soldiers are willing to sacrifice themselves for our country, but isn't it our duty as civilians to determine if the policies and assumptions which bring them there are just. I guess that's what got me going in the new media. There seems an unwillingness to do the slightest bit of investigative journalism in this country. I completely reject the notion of a liberal media, to me it seems more and more that the major news outlet are driven more by the corporate bottom line than an ethical desire to find the truth.

Just a little stream of consciousness writing in the morning...

General Assembly Legislative Update

2005-02-18T00:19:00.000-05:00

Well I've done something that almost no sane person would do, I've catalogued the legislation going through the GA which I think is pertinent. I've decided to group them according to how I feel about them. If you don't like that get your own blog and write what you think. Anyways, if you feel motivated you can investigate any of these at http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/lastaction/lastaction.pl?Biennium=2005&SessionNumber=1&StartIndex=100

Well here we go....
The good:

-H3 Lottery sounds good to me (I always forget when I go south of the border)
-H4 No Second Primary for elections (I admit I still need to study the language on this bill)
-H5 Equal Justice (Death Penalty Moratorium)
-H6 Amend Lobbying Laws (Less Dirty Money)
-H12 Left Lane for Passing Only (This bill shows my bi-partisan side)
-H15 and H286 Cigarette Tax Increase (You've got to pay the bills and come on what's .07 cents anyways)
-H30 and S33 Vote by Mail (It seems to work well in Oregon)
-H40 Drivers Licenses (Sorry I watch too much Lou Dobbs it's not that bad of an idea)
-H181 Increasing Salaries for Beginning Teachers ('nough said)
-H238 Public Confidence in Elections (paper ballots for e-voting I'll have a larger post on this one in a day or so)
-S35 Red Light Cameras (Let's you argue your case in front of the judge)
-S102 No Cell Phones while driving if you're under 18 (seems reasonable to me)

The bad...

-H55 and S8 Defense of Marriage Act... Why do people think that if homosexuals marry it somehow makes their marriages null and void. Honestly, all this talk about the sanctity of marriage kills me. Over 50% divorce rate... Come on I think we heteros are doing a good enough job destroying the "sanctity" of marriage. I'll have another diatribe on this particular issue this weekend.
-H76 Ban Smoking in Restaurants (Now I'm not a smoker, but damn you're going to raise their taxes and then tell them they can't smoke after a meal? It's not like there isn't a "smoking section" already)
-H289 and S106 No Abortion Coverage with state funds (this bag of worms... we'll get back to this one)
-S104 Zero Tolerance DWI when transporting a minor (this one just seems like a way to clog the courts with people leaving Panthers, Bobcats, Hurricanes well not this year, games) money that's all it is...

The ugly... Definitely need to be looked at I just haven't come to a conclusion if I'll be supporting them yet...

H126 and H128 both deal with early voting and any-preceint voting... I tend to think that a mail based voting system may be the way to go, but these both seem to be an improvement over the status-quo.

Well, that's this week's round-up... we'll see what comes of it...

Something's Fishy...

2005-02-17T23:22:00.000-05:00

There is definitely something askew with this particular bill in the senate... SB 172 provides for more corporate tax exemptions. I swear I think Republicans actually like our crappy public school system and our abyssimaly roads in this state because they sure as hell don't want to collect the funds to pay for quality... Don't even get me started on the I-77 widening in Charlotte... Anyways, the bill proposed by Sen. Fred Smith is up for the world to see, maybe I'm wrong hey if someone decides to tell me all the better...

http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2005/Bills/Senate/PDF/S172v0.pdf

2005-02-17T22:57:00.000-05:00

So I know as of now I haven't listed anything remotely political and that's likely to stay that way for at least a day or so while I test this thing out. There is an interesting bill making its' way through the NC Senate right now SB 133 provides for provisional voting though there doesn't seem to be any major changes between it and the provisional voting of the previous elections. You can read the bill yourself at http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2005/Bills/Senate/PDF/S133v2.pdf

A great commentary on religion...

2005-02-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

This comes from Fr. John Dear and I think is an incredible essay on the wrong-headness of the "mainstream" i.e. radical right wing religious establishment that we all know and love in the state of NC.

The first time around...

2005-02-17T20:52:00.000-05:00

Hello world! Just getting some things going around here. I hope to have this place set with some goodies before too long. I post over at dailykos.com so check it out if you'd like.