The 2020 races for governor and US Senator aren't the only statewide campaigns we should be watching. We also need to keep an eye on Mark Johnson, that state stuporintendent of public instruction. Johnson has proven himself to be a liar in the same vein as every other GOP leader in the country, and he's spending taxpayer dollars to sell his dishonest propaganda. WRAL breaks it down:
Mark Johnson says he wants North Carolinians – particularly the taxpayers who are parents of public school children – to have access to more information about how their money is used and what is being done to help learning. Johnson, the state superintendent of public instruction, appears to want us to understand how much our classroom teachers are being paid and how that compares with household incomes and wages other North Carolinians earn in their jobs. He wants to convince us he and other leaders are doing a good job of providing for public education.
The website database is part of a larger $6.4 million taxpayer-financed project. There is no breakout of the costs for Johnson’s “dashboard.” No matter the exact cost, in its current form, we’ve shelled out a lot of money for something that is so significantly misleading as to be worthless. The specific “facts” presented may be in and of themselves accurate. But they are displayed in a way that lies to and misleads North Carolinians. It must be fixed. Until that is done, the misleading and distorted information should be taken off line.
You'll find the whole WRAL story below. Read it and weep. For our country and for our state. We are being run by dishonest people, elected officials who would just as soon lie as breathe.
After two incidents in which opponents pushed each other, Chapel Hill police brought in portable plastic barriers to separate the two groups. “You are evil and nasty,” Wendy Hayslett, a “Confederate” protester told the students and their supporters, shouting into a bullhorn. The anti-racists answered with chants of “Go home, Nazis.”
One protester arrived late with a handgun holstered on his hip. He carried a Confederate flag and a sign that said, “WARNING. LEAVE SOUTHERN MONUMENTS ALONE.” A member of the Heirs group invited him to join them, but police cautioned him he could not come onto the site with the gun. He left and came back without it.
Watch the video. They got into several scuffles before the police showed up and placed barriers between them. But here's the kicker: The Town of Chapel Hill issued the Confederate group a permit, so they knew when and where this was going to happen. Police should have been there before this began, not after the pushing and shoving took place. Even the Lost Cause Snowflakes were surprised at that oversight:
TWO MEN SHOT AFTER WINNING IN RALEIGH SWEEPSTAKES PARLOR: Two men were shot early Monday after winning money at a Raleigh sweepstakes parlor. According to officials, the two victims were shot while sitting inside their car in the parking lot of The Palace, a sweepstakes parlor off Capital Boulevard. The two men had just won money, and the shooting was fueled by a robbery, officials said. The victims were able to get away. They got help when they spotted police officers near New Bern Avenue and Corporation Parkway. The men were taken to WakeMed with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to the arm and leg. They were released by 5 a.m. https://www.wral.com/men-shot-over-winnings-in-parking-lot-of-raleigh-sweepstakes-parlor/18367679/
Sometimes I can barely stand to be alive in this bizarro state of North Carolina, where otherwise thoughtful people seem to have lost their minds and morals. What I don't know is whether it's just my imagination. Is the NC GOP really that bad?
In one of his early campaign events, Joe Biden cautioned against painting the entire Republican party with the Trump tar brush. Biden says Trump himself is the problem, not the whole GOP. It's almost like he thinks Trump hypnotized everyone into being amoral traitors and liars. It's not really their fault? I can't quite buy it.
NC CEOS: NOW'S THE TIME TO EXPAND MEDICAID: As business leaders in the State of North Carolina, we know firsthand that a strong workforce is essential to North Carolina’s economy. We also know that employee health is a big contributor to the strength of our workforce. A big contributor to good health is having insurance. People with health insurance are more likely to see a doctor when they get sick and have better overall health. And healthier employees are more productive and absent less. Unfortunately, 13 percent of North Carolinians under 65 are uninsured. These are our neighbors - they are construction workers, retail employees, restaurant workers, veterans and farmers; they are the bedrock of our communities. Currently, a family of four with working parents cannot earn more than $9,000 to qualify for Medicaid. But they earn too little to qualify for federal subsidies to buy their own insurance. They fall into a coverage gap. https://www.wral.com/n-c-ceos-now-s-the-time-to-expand-medicaid/18355440/
A federal court on Friday tossed out Ohio’s congressional map, ruling that Republican state lawmakers had carved up the state to give themselves an illegal partisan advantage and to dilute Democrats’ votes in a way that predetermined the outcome of elections.
The ruling follows decisions by four other federal courts striking down partisan gerrymanders in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Maryland and, last week, in Michigan. All but Maryland were gerrymandered by Republicans. The Supreme Court, which last year sidestepped the issue of whether partisan gerrymandering violates the Constitution, is expected to rule this spring in appeals from Maryland and North Carolina.
The 3-judge panel has directed the Ohio Legislature to have new maps ready by June, so no doubt the Supreme Court will be asked to issue a stay sometime very soon. And that unfinished business with a clock ticking will be on their minds while looking at Maryland and North Carolina. Tell me if this doesn't sound eerily familiar:
HOUSE BUDGET GIVES $1.2 MILLION TO ANTI-ABORTION ORGANIZATION: Under Health and Human Services’ budget, an anti-abortion nonprofit called the Human Coalition would receive $1.2 million to expand a pilot program statewide. Money would be used to “encourage healthy childbirth, support childbirth as an alternative to abortion, promote family formation, assist in establishing successful parenting techniques, and increase the economic self-sufficiency of families.” When the budget came through committee, Rep. Gale Adcock and Rep. Julie Von Haefen, both Wake County Democrats, raised questions. Von Haefen wanted to know who would oversee spending for the group, which would provide “crisis pregnancy” services. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article229940729.html
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