Blogs

Wanted to share a story written by a great YD, Tucker Middleton, about another great YD, D. Cole Phelps.

Phelps’ hard work and commitment paid off. In an 894-vote primary for the Democratic nomination for Washington County Commissioner, Phelps received 558 votes, equating to 62.42 percent, to challenger Mike Martin’s 336 votes, 37.58 percent. Phelps still has to win on the November general election ballot, but he’s confident in his chances — he has no Republican challenger, and therefore he will be the only candidate on the ballot for commissioner.

[Lee] Storrow said the Farm Team quickly recognized Phelps’ energy and enthusiasm as a young candidate and were “excited about Cole’s election because he has strong connections to the Washington County community.”

He must have been a telemarketer in a previous life:

"It is a beginning and it will be funded by corporations that believe in educational access for everyone," Stam told several hundred people attending the rally. "It will not cost the state money; it saves the taxpayers money while at the same time providing tens of thousands of scholarships for children whose families earn, for a family of four, up to about $50,000 a year."

It most certainly will cost the state money. Right out of the revenue coffers and into the hands of private schools:

A rally on Tuesday announced yet another attempt by House Majority Leader Paul "Skip" Stam to privatize public education. Legislation will be introuduced to allow corporations to send up to $40 million of their state taxes to children to attend private schools. Stam, a long time advocate of private school tax credits and the voucher system, introduced a plan that will take much needed state tax funds and channel it to private schools in the form of corporate scholarships.

According to RawStory, the KKK in Reidsville has scheduled a cross burning social event in that vicinity. You can listen to the local KKK idiot: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/22/kkk-invites-nc-residents-to-whites... . Have not seen one mention in the lamestream media. Want to bet they will ignore it.

Then there is that raving moron "preacher" in Catawba who wants to round up all the homosexuals and pen them with electric fences - till they die.

Has all of NC lost their blooming marbles, totally. As I put it in forwarding the KKK article, Timmy McVeigh has brothers and sisters in Reidsville. Wonder if the FBI, so busy with preemptive sting operations against protesters will list these KKK morons as potential terrorists - naw, theys just good ole boys.

Wonder what else will make us proud of NC further?

This money trail is well-marked:

In a Schedule 14a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tree.com reported paying McCrory $78,333 in cash and $62,500 in stock during 2009. That total compensation would be more than $140,000. McCrory still serves on the Tree.com board, and SEC reports indicate his total compensation is more than $100,000 each year.

Binker did a good job on this fact-check, although the presentation leaves something to be desired. The actual fact-checking comes after an analysis of who paid for the ad itself, and an impatient reader might just quit reading before the getting to the info quoted above. In which case, the fact-check itself becomes misleading. As to this finish:

NC "pastor" outlines his plans for extermination camps for gays and lesbians from the pulpit.

Worse -- his audience shouts in affirmation.

Anyone contemplating dragging me or mine to an extermination camp will want to reexamine their plans lest those sowing the wind reap the whirlwind.

I was interviewed by NPR this morning about the state of the Democratic Party from a grassroots perspective and one of the topics we discussed was how the recent controversy at the state party was going to affect fundraising. I think turnout at the Jefferson/Jackson dinner next month will be telling. There is no way the dinner will bring in the numbers from four years ago but I think it will be a good gauge on what should be expected over the next few months.

This dinner has traditionally been one of if not the largest fundraiser for the state party each year and who shows should be pretty interesting.

Thoughts?

And it's not a happy tale:

The state currently lists all water bodies in the state as contaminated by mercury. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is drafting a plan to quantify sources of mercury such as power plants and sewage treatment plants and propose steps to reduce mercury in North Carolina waterways. Having such a plan will make it easier to press other states that contribute to North Carolina’s pollution problem to cut mercury pollution, officials say.

If DENR is really serious about reducing mercury emissions, refusing Titan Cement's permits would be a no-brainer. That one plant alone will increase atmospheric mercury releases in the state by over 10%. A short list of fish not to eat:

Stepping up to fight undue influence by corporations:

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending.

The entity behind this attack on states' rights is (of course) a Republican-approved, oil & gas-funded, astroturf-carpeted organization called the American Tradition Partnership, which has been waging war against clean, renewable energy for some time now. I'll let Sue Sturgis from Facing South elucidate further:

Sam Winstead—Veteran For Peace

The newest member of the Eisenhower Chapter of Veterans For Peace, Sam Winstead, a WWII marine vet, led a 7 day, 350 mile bicycle Ride for Peace from Raleigh, NC to Washington DC Apr. 29 through May 5.

The journey began 4/29/12 at 8:00 am departing from the Capitol Building in Raleigh, NC, with overnight stops in Henderson, NC, Blackstone, VA, The Grayhaven Winery in Gum Spring, VA, Culpeper, Middleburg and Leesburg.

Mr. Winstead, an 86 year old retired farmer from Person County, NC, pedaled the entire route for 7 days, including some daunting hills in northern Virginia, with his cousin Joe Winstead, 68, and 64 year old Fred Mauney. Fourteen other bicyclists joined the ride for parts of the route, including Sam’s 15 year old great grandson Aidan Janke, and 30 year old grandson Billy Janke. Support drivers Bert Gurganus, Wally Ewalt and Ted Zeller also accompanied the Ride for Peace for the entire week.