Thedemocraticvoiceofalamance.com

THE ATTEMPT BY REPUBLICANS TO DISENFRANCHISE NORTH CAROLINA VOTERS

2013-05-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Not all the news is good. North Carolina lawmakers introduced a series of bills to cut early voting, require photo ID, eliminate same-day registration, and make it more difficult for students to register.

A “pray-in” in front of the state Senate building on April 29, objecting to the voting restrictions and other GOP initiatives, resulted in 17 arrests.

Before his arrest, Rev. William Barber, the head of the NAACP’s North Carolina conference, said that “rightwing extremists in the state legislature and the governor’s office are acting as if they want to go down in history as the George Wallaces of the 21st century by standing in the door of progress.” He appeared on MSNBC’s “All In” with Chris Hayes, along with the Brennan Center’s Myrna Pérez and Benjamin Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP.

The Central High School’s Class of 1968 2013 Luncheon

2013-05-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY JULY 20 2013
The Central High School’s Class of 1968

2013 Luncheon
Graham, North Carolina
Alamance County
45th ‘mini’ reunion luncheon

All are welcomed to join the class of 1968 for a luncheon “just to catch up”.

Location:
Prego’s Trattoria phone # = 336 586 0292
2740 South Church
Burlington, NC 27213
Time: plan to arrive around 11:00 am for greetings, pictures, etc.; lunch served at 12 noon (estimated duration 12-3pm)
Payment: “Dutch Treat”… you pay for what you order

Bring the following:
Your memories Good humor Your love for Central High Camera Old Pictures 1968 Cardinal year book
Stories and a few lies; History (championships won, school colors, year Central opened, teachers, # in graduating class, lyrics to school song, school colors, etc.)
Copy and Distribute to the Central High Class of 1968

Location:
Prego’s Trattoria phone # = 336 586 0292
2740 South Church
Burlington, NC 27213
Time: plan to arrive around 11:00 am for greetings, pictures, etc.; lunch served at 12 noon (estimated duration 12-3pm)
Payment: “Dutch Treain graduating class, lyrics to school song, school colors, etc.)

GOP Star Witnesses Debunk Right-Wing Benghazi Conspiracy Theories

2013-05-13T05:51:00.000-07:00

The “whistleblowers” at today’s House Oversight Committee hearing on what really happened in Benghazi, Libya last September were supposed to break the dam that would lead to President Obama’s eventual downfall, in the eyes of conservatives. Instead, these witness actually served to debunk several theories that the right-wing has pushed on Benghazi, leaving the hearing a fizzle for the GOP:

1. F-16s could have been sent to Benghazi

Part of the prevailing theory surrounding the events the night of the Benghazi attacks is that the Obama administration did not do enough militarily to respond to the crisis. Gregory Hicks — a Foreign Service Officer and the former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Libya — claimed during his pre-hearing testimony that fighter jets could have been flown over Benghazi, preventing the second wave of the attack from occurring.
Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) questioned that statement, asking Hicks whether he disagreed with Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey’s assessment that no air assets were in range the night of the attack. Hicks didn’t disagree, saying he was “speaking from [his] perspective” and what “veteran Libyan revolutionaries” told him, rather than Pentagon assessments.

2. Hillary Clinton signed cables denying additional security to Benghazi

House Republicans came to the conclusion in their interim report on Benghazi that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lied to them about what she knew and when during her testimony this January. This includes her statement that at no time was she aware of requests for additional security at the diplomatic facility in Benghazi prior to the attack.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) used her time to take issue with this claim, asking all three witnesses about standard protocol for cables leaving the State Department. All three agreed with Maloney, that the Secretary of State’s name is placed at the bottom of all outgoing cables and telegrams from Foggy Bottom, whether the Secretary has viewed them or not, shooting down the GOP claim.

3. A Special Forces Team that could have saved lives was told to stand down

One of the most shocking reveals in the lead-up to today’s hearing was that a team of Special Forces in Tripoli were told not to deploy to Benghazi during the attack. That decision has led to an uproar on the right, including claims of dereliction of duty towards Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey for not taking actions that could have saved lives.
During questioning, Hicks confirmed that the team was ready to be deployed — not to join the fighting at the CIA annex — but “to secure the airport for the withdrawal of our personnel from Benghazi after the mortar attack.” Hicks also confirmed that it was the second such team to be readied for deployment, with the first having proceeded to Benghazi earlier. Despite the second team not deploying, the staff was all evacuated first to Tripoli, then to Germany, within 18 hours of the attack taking place.

4. The State Department’s Accountability Review Board is not legitimate

Republicans have been attacking the State Department’s official in-house review of the shortcomings seen before, during, and after the assault in Benghazi. That criticism prompted House Republicans to write their own report. When asked point blank about the recommendations of the Board, however, the witnesses didn’t cooperate with the GOP narrative. “Absolutely,” Eric Nordstrom, the Regional Security Officer for Libya prior to the assault in Benghazi, answered when asked if he believes implementing the recommendations would improve security. “I had an opportunity to review that along with other two committee reports. I think taken altogether, they’re fairly comprehensive and reasonable.” Hicks, when questioned, said that while he had some issues with the process by which the Board gathered its information, he demurred on criticizing the report itself.

by Hayes Brown
ThinkProgress

ATTACK ON NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS

2013-05-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

h Carolina say proposals in the General Assembly would deal a major blow to a system that's already hurting.

Former Congressman and State Superintendent Bob Etheridge joined about 30 teachers and parents Friday to raise awareness about legislation they said will harm instruction, student preparedness and the financial health of public schools. Also joining the crowd was former Democratic Congressman Tim Valentine.

Etheridge said people are not paying attention to proposals that seek to limit eligibility for the state's pre-kindergarten program or remove class-size limits in some elementary classrooms. He also complained about cutting upwards of 4,000 teacher assistants and taking money from public schools through tax credits for parents who send children to private schools.

"To the folks now running our state government in Raleigh, education reform is just another code word for cut, slash and burn," he said.

A voucher bill expected to be debated this week would set aside $90 million to offer tax credits to the families of as many as 14,000 students per year, which is about 1 percent of the 1.5 million students in public schools across the state, according to a bill sponsor.

Another measure making its way through the General Assembly would eliminate or change how teachers earn tenure, which allows educators with career status to demand a hearing if an administrator tries to fire them.

Supporters of the education agenda say the ideas will save money, offer greater control for school management and greater choice to the parents of children attending inadequate schools.

The speakers assembled at Green Hope Park Friday argued the policies will only further reduce investment in a public education system that's fallen from 24th nationally in teacher pay a decade ago to 48th. North Carolina also ranks 48th in per-student spending, according to the National Education Association.

Rodney Ellis, president of lobbying group NC Association of Educators, said narrowing eligibility for pre-kindergarten ignores the progress the state has made with graduation rates. He also said research supports investments that emphasize smaller class sizes.

"All the data says that one of the most important factors for student success is class size," he said. "Why on earth would we eliminate that benefit for hundreds of thousands of North Carolina students?"

Lynn Edmonds, a retired educator and parent, said many of the proposals demonize teachers and discourage young talent from entering the field. The only thing tenure guarantees is freedom from arbitrary termination, she said.

"It simply gives teachers the dignity they deserve," she said.

Jen Ferrell, a parent from Apex, said she first moved to North Carolina from Northern Virginia in part because it boasted top-notch schools, but she's concerned the state's best days are behind it.

"I worry if we don't stem the tide of bad legislation that threatens our great public schools, North Carolina will no longer attract families, jobs and investment," she said.

NAACP PLANS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE PROTEST AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY

2013-05-06T00:14:00.000-07:00

MONDAY MAY 7 2013

RALEIGH — The North Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People announced Friday that it's planning another round of protests at the General Assembly following t

State chapter president the Rev. William Barber announced alongside most of those arrested earlier this week that more NAACP members and activists aligned with the group will engage in nonviolent demonstrations Monday with the possibility of more arrests. Religious leaders, professors, members of social justice group the Raging Grannies and others are expected to join the protests.

The NAACP has come out forcefully against what the group calls a regressive agenda in the Republican-led General Assembly targeting Medicaid, unemployment benefits, the earned income tax credit, voting rights, public education, and, most recently, a House bill narrowing income eligibility for the state's pre-K program offered to children at risk of falling behind their peers.

Barber was among the 17 arrested Monday outside the Senate chambers of the General Assembly after more than an hour of prayer and songs of protest. All were charged with misdemeanors and later released on bond.

SUPPORT FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

2013-05-03T08:06:00.001-07:00

A Statement from Advancement Project

In response to the nonviolent direct actions planned at the North Carolina General Assembly today, about the package of voter suppression bills that state lawmakers are pursuing, Advancement Project Co-Director Penda D. Hair issued the following statement.

The extreme ideology coming from the North Carolina legislature, with its attacks on the poor and working people, is alarming enough. Even more shameful is that the lawmakers who have taken control of the House and Senate are now trying to rig the rules, and disenfranchise certain voters, in order to remain in power far after this legislative session. From requiring strict photo ID, to banning same-day registration and Sunday voting, to taxing the parents of students who vote at their college address – these measures have all been carefully crafted to make it harder to vote for people of color, students, seniors and the working poor.

The ballot box is supposed to be the one place where every citizen – rich or poor, young or old, and of every race – has an equal voice. We join North Carolina in fighting these attacks with every legal strategy and organizing tool at our disposal, to make sure that all citizens can vote in elections that are free, fair and accessible.

North Carolina's Arrogant and Vindictive Senate: HOUSE OKAYS VOTER ID BILL!!

2013-04-24T23:38:00.001-07:00

UPDATE:Wednesday APRIL 24,2013

.

RALEIGH — A Republican bill requiring voters to present photo identification passed the North Carolina House on Wednesday in a vote that split mostly along party lines.

The Republican-controlled House approved the bill 81-36 after nearly three hours of amendments and partisan-charged debate.

Guilford County’s Democrats all voted against the bill, while local Republicans all voted for it.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Republicans also hold a substantial majority.

State Rep. Alma Adams, D-Guilford, spoke against the bill, noting that it allows public college IDs to suffice at polling locations but not private college IDs.

========================================

Senator Tommy Tucker from Union County is the latest member of the General Assembly receiving national attention, and his 15 seconds of fame may be the most revealing incident yet about the folks currently in charge of the legislative branch of government in North Carolina.

Tucker made headlines this week for telling a North Carolina newspaper publisher, "I am the senator. You are the citizen. You need to be quiet."

Tucker's display of ego and arrogance comes on the heels on legislators prompting national outrage for equating Islamic prayer with terrorism and calling for the establishment of a state religion while vowing that North Carolina is not subject to the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.

As bizarre and shocking as those actions were, Tucker's berating of a citizen he is supposed to be representing wasn't all that surprising. That's the way the General Assembly, especially the Senate, is run these days.

The folks in charge not only want to make sure you know they are in charge, they want your obedience, not your questions or doubts and certainly not your disagreements. It's clear they not only have an ideological agenda to pursue, they have scores to settle from their years in the minority.

That chip on their collective shoulder is obvious every day in big and small ways, from terse and snarling admonitions to people daring to speak out against the majority at committee meetings to brazenly writing controversial legislation in secret gatherings with only a handful of friendly special interests in the room.
It's come through in their war on cities, their moves to seize airports and void leases and take over local water systems.

It started in the Senate in the session's first week when no outside speakers were allowed as a Senate committee considered legislation that would deny healthcare to 500,000 low-income people and cost hospitals $13 billion in revenue.

That committee meeting didn't even last the full hour. Senate leaders were there to enforce their will, not have a real legislative hearing about health care for a half a million people.

It was happening this week as an angry Senator all but shouted down his Democratic colleagues who pointed out the numerous problems with his punitive proposal to drug-test all applicants for public assistance.
The Senate Rules chair walked out of House committee meeting a few weeks ago after discovering that his bill was changed, slamming the door as he left the room.

Another senator could barely contain his fury recently during a debate about charter schools when a colleague suggested that maybe it would be good idea to require the schools to conduct criminal background checks of teachers and administrators.

No dissent is allowed. No tough questions either.
The attitude comes through even in press releases from Senate leaders. They don't just announce positions on issues, they take nasty partisan shots every chance they get.

This is an angry, bitter, and vindictive Senate. Don't get in their way. Don’t ask to speak. Don't question the way they twist and contort Senate rules. And for goodness sakes don't stand up and tell them you disagree.
Sit down and be quiet. They know better. They are Senators after all. You are just lowly citizens.

Chris Fitzsimon,

NC Policy Watch

How The Media Keeps Screwing Up Coverage Of The Boston Marathon Bombing

2013-04-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday afternoon, CNN and several other news outlets incorrectly reported that officials had arrested a suspect in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings. CNN described the alleged perpetrator only as a “dark skinned individual,” and host Wolf Blitzer also pushed reporter John King to say whether the suspect had an accent.

Less than an hour later,CBS tweeted, “JUST IN: Man sought as possible suspect is WHITE MALE, wearing white baseball cap on backwards, gray hoodie and black jacket.”
In repose to one or perhaps both of the reports, the FBI released a scathing statement cautioning journalists not to jump to conclusions:

Journalists hounded a victim and his neighbors. After the attack, authorities spoke with a Saudi national who was a witness to and victim of the bombings. But several media outlets mistakenly reported that he was a “person of interest” or a “suspect,” and the New York Post even bragged about this “world-beating scoop.”

The Wall Street Journal reported more bombs. On Monday night, the Wall Street Journal reported that police had found five additional explosive devices, on top of the two that had been deployed. It was only minutes later that federal authorities dismissed that report as inaccurate.

The New York Post gave an inflated death count. As the country braced for what could have been even more tragic numbers of casualties, the New York Post tried to rush to be first to report the news. This led them to incorrectly inform the country “there are at least 12 dead,” a number they later defended that count, four times the actual number of fatalities, by saying, “a law-enforcement source told The Post it could be as high as 12.”

There are plenty of good things that can come out of real-time news reports in the wake of a tragedy, even if some of those reports prove wrong. But when the incident involves terror felt at a national level, inaccurate reports can terrorize the community even further. The predisposition of news organizations to place blame at the feet of Muslims, Arabs, or any given “dark skinned individual” can lead to false reports, unnecessary suspicions, and the accusation of a group of people, writ large, with no specifics to identify the real suspect.

UPDATE

On Thursday morning, the New York Post put a picture of two men on its front cover, indicating that the two were suspects

CNN concurred in its report, but CBS refuted that the men were suspects, and on Reddit, where the picture seems to have surfaced, members are now cautioning fellow posters against running any personal information about the two.

UPDATE

Late Thursday night and into Friday morning, several news outlets reported the wrong name of the two suspects whose images had been released by police. Outlets reported one suspect as Sunil Tripathi, a student at Brown University who has been missing since March.

Annie-Rose Strasser

ThinkProgess

SENATE KILLS BACKGROUND CHECKS!!!

2013-04-17T18:12:00.001-07:00

The above U.S. Senators Voted Against Criminal Background Checks......

The Senate rejected a bipartisan compromise amendment to expand gun background checks on Wednesday, casting a 54 to 46 vote that drew sharp responses from supporters who had seen the measure as a small, significant and viable step forward on gun control.

"All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington," President Barack Obama said, addressing the inaction. Standing behind the president was former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) who moments before had also lambasted senators for their opposition in an email.

Below, a list of the Twitter handles of all of the senators who voted no on the measure, excluding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who voted against the amendment on procedural grounds. Find their information and let them know how you feel. For a full roll call, click here.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) -- @SenAlexander

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) -- @KellyAyotte

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) -- @SenJohnBarrasso

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) -- @MaxBaucus

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) -- @SenatorBegich

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) -- @RoyBlunt

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) -- @JohnBoozeman

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) -- @SenatorBurr

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) -- @SaxbyChambliss

Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) -- @SenDanCoats

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) -- @TomCoburn

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) -- @SenThadCochran

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) -- @SenBobCorker

Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) -- @JohnCornyn

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) -- @MikeCrapo

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) -- @SenTedCruz

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) -- @SenatorEnzi

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) -- @SenatorFischer

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) -- @JeffFlake

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) -- @GrahamBlog

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) -- @ChuckGrassley

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) -- @SenOrrinHatch

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) -- @SenatorHeitkamp

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) -- @SenDeanHeller

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) -- @SenJohnHoeven

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) -- @jiminhofe

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) -- @SenatorIsakson

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) -- @Mike_Johanns

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) -- @SenRonJohnson

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) -- @SenMikeLee

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- @McConnellPress

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) -- @JerryMoran

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) -- @lisamurkowski

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) -- @SenRandPaul

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) -- @robportman

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) -- @SenMarkPryor

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) -- @SenatorRisch

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) -- @SenPatRoberts

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) -- @marcorubio

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) -- @SenatorTimScott

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) -- @SenatorSessions

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) -- @SenShelbyPress

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) -- @SenJohnThune

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) -- @DavidVitter

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) -- @SenatorWicker

A LETTER TO MY CONGRESSMAN

2013-04-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of a letter that I wrote to my Con. Richard H. Burr yesterday!

"Hi, my name is Thomas and I'm from Burlington. I stand with the overwhelming majority of Americans demanding common-sense legislation to reduce gun violence. I'm asking Senator Burr to end his filibuster of the Manchin-Toomey amendment and to allow a simple up-or-down vote on this important legislation."

a Vote Against The Gun Control Law!!!...is what I got!!!

"OPEN LETTER" Jay-Z Addresses Critics

2013-04-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

After a week of making headlines for both his business and personal life, rapper Jay-Z clearly had to get some issues off his chest. And this morning, The RocNation president did just that. " OPEN LETTER"

After a week of making headlines for both his business and personal life, rapper Jay-Z clearly had to get some issues off his chest.

And this morning, The RocNation president did just that.

Releasing a new song titled “Open Letter,” the “Empire State of Mind” emcee addressed the backlash from conservatives that came with his fifth wedding anniversary trip to Cuba with his wife, pop star Beyoncé.

Report: Beyoncé, Jay Z Cuba trip was OK’d, Treasury Department says

The Brooklyn native rapped,”They wanna give me a jail time and a fine? Fine. Let me commit a real crime.”

The pointed lyrics follow his decision to sell his minority shares in the Barclays Center to start his own sports agency.

Jay-Z takes on his detractors and more in the 2 minute, 41 second track

by
Kyle Harvey

THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT BECOMES MORE VITAL BY THE DAY

2013-04-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

The law may sometimes lie in suspended animation — like it is now, today over voting rights — but politics always moves relentlessly ahead.

So while the justices of the United States Supreme Court contemplate the fate of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires federal approval of election law changes in certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination, and the nation awaits the Court’s judgment in Shelby County v. Holder, lawmakers in dozens of states around the country have been moving forward with related legislation that would restrict the right to vote for millions of Americans.

The results of a new Brennan Center survey released last week would be remarkable in any year — so much legislative effort designed to make it harder for citizens to vote! — but the statistics are particularly compelling this year because of the pendency of the strong constitutional challenge to the preclearance provision of the 1965 federal voting law. State lawmakers aren’t waiting to see how Shelby County turns out. And they aren’t chastened by their losses in federal court in 2012.

First, the good news. A number of states have introduced measures to improve access to voting. Lawmakers in Florida and New Hampshire, for example, two states notorious for their recent narrowing of voter access, have voted to reverse some of the more restrictive rules put in place in 2012. Voters in Wisconsin just last week voted to keep the state’s same-day registration law. And hundreds of so-called “reform” bills are pending in state houses across the country.

Now the bad news. Since the beginning of 2013, the Brennan Center reports, at least 80 restrictive voting bills have been introduced in 31 states. Sixty-six of those bills are still pending in 26 states and 27 such measures in 14 states are moving forward in state houses from sea to shining sea. Lawmakers in six of the nine states fully covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act have introduced restrictive voting laws. So have lawmakers in three of the six states that are partially covered by Section 5.

Since January, at least 22 states have introduced measures requiring photo identification at polls. At least seven states are considering bills to reduce early-voting or in-person absentee voting periods. No fewer than nine states are considering measures to limit voter registration. Some of these measures no doubt are constitutional. Others may not be. But all of them are likely to have a disproportionate impact upon minority citizens, the elderly, students, and indigent citizens.

In Arkansas lawmakers have passed a photo identification law that will impact the rights of minority citizens there. In Virginia, lawmakers have passed a similar law and also a law narrowing the scope of voter registration. These measures won’t go into effect until 2014 and will almost certainly be challenged — if Section 5 is still a viable provision of federal law following the current Supreme Court term. The justices are expected to announce their decision in Shelby County no later than the end of June.

These recent legislative developments are not part of the record of the Alabama case before the Court. Nor will the justices necessarily take judicial notice of the political posture of the measures now circulating through state houses. Thomas Goldstein, the lawyer who founded the SCOTUSblog website and who argues regularly before the Court, told me Friday that the Court’s conservative justices may be paying attention but still “will be much more suspicious that the adoption of racially tinged voting restrictions in covered jurisdictions remains a widespread ongoing problem.”

The justices are going to vote how they are going to vote, in other words, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us should ignore the context and perspective here. During oral argument in late February, the justices were told by the lawyer for Shelby County that Section 5 could no longer be constitutionally justified by current conditions. And yet in the weeks both before and after that argument there is new proof in many covered jurisdictions that Section 5 is still relevant. The push for such legislation is unrestrained by the pendency of the Shelby County decision — as if these state lawmakers are betting on the demise of the preclearance provision.

It’s a striking dichotomy that begs the following questions: If the justices strike down Section 5 as under-inclusive, will Congress respond with remedial legislation to fortify the section? Are the state and local politicians pressing for restrictive new voting laws inadvertently giving federal lawmakers the justification they need for the imposition of a national preclearance rule that wipes away the pending argument that Southern jurisdictions are being unfairly put upon by Section 5?

One of the most powerful arguments against the preclearance provision is that federal lawmakers in renewing the statute in 2006 did not update or justify their decades-old formula for determining which jurisdictions merit “coverage” under the law. Covered jurisdictions, of course, bear the burden of proving their new election measures do not discriminate. So how about a new Section 5 coverage plan that requires officials in jurisdictions like Ohio and Pennsylvania — which have seen discriminatory voting policies and practices in recent elections — to justify their new measures in the same fashion that officials in Alabama and Florida do now?

Don’t laugh. The pervasiveness of the new generation of voting restrictions — in state after state after state — is making a national standard more plausible as a political matter and more justifiable as a constitutional principle. And that would mean a quite unintended consequence of the decades-long fight to strike down Section 5. The folks opposed to preclearance would see it imposed in more states around the nation. And the folks supporting Section 5 would see in the looming Court decision striking it down an opportunity for a rebirth that would make the law stronger than it is today.

by
Andrew Cohen

NC REPUBLICANS PROPOSE DRUG SCREEN FOR WELFARE RECIPIANTS

2013-04-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina Senate Republicans are pushing a new bill requiring drug screening for welfare applicants and current recipients who reapply for assistance.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the proposal Tuesday that would require applicants to undergo drug screening at their own cost. They would be paid back if they tested negative for controlled substances.

Current law requires welfare recipients with diagnosed substance abuse problems to participate in a treatment program and submit to drug testing to continue qualifying for benefits.

Democrats and advocacy groups opposed the changes, arguing they unfairly target poor people when they need help the most. They say similar policies in other states haven’t worked.

Another Republican-sponsored bill requiring criminal background checks for welfare recipients and applicants is scheduled for a full House vote Tuesday.

by
Krish Kardish
Associated Press

NORTH CAROLINA TAKES A TURN AS MISSISSIPPI

2013-04-07T19:19:00.001-07:00

In our attention to what's goin' down in the several states, especially those several states where Republican governors have Republican state legislatures with which to play, we have been inexcusably neglectful in keeping an eye on North Carolina — aka The Smart Carolina. They had all that academia going on in the middle of the state, and all that medical smartitude breaking out all throughout the Research Triangle, and we were so dazzled that we didn't notice that, politically, the people running the place were casting envious eyes southward toward The Dumbass Carolina and thinking, "We need to get us some of that!"

Oh, sure, there was the time when the Republicans in the legislature passed that bill that made it illegal for the oceans to rise in contradiction to Jesus's expressed wishes, but we took that as a kind of prank, really. Now, though, Governor Pat McCrory has made it clear that, by cracky, he's not going to be out-peckerwood-ed by those folks one state down 95.

The overhaul will allow North Carolina to repay $2.5 billion borrowed from the federal government for unemployment benefits at a quicker pace. The law, which takes effect on July 1, cuts maximum weekly benefits to $350 from $535 and caps benefits at 12 to 20 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate, instead of the current 26 weeks. McCrory said the measure "will protect our small businesses from continued over-taxation, ensure our citizens' unemployment safety net is secure and financially sound for future generations, and help provide an economic climate that allows job creators to start hiring again." Critics said the harsh nature of the cuts would harm some of the state's most vulnerable residents. North Carolina has more than 400,000 jobless workers, making its 9.2 percent unemployment rate higher than the national average of 7.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I am particularly struck by the governor's logic regarding the way the "job creators" think. Naturally, if you make the unemployed even more desperate more quickly, the "job creators" will respond by hiring all of them at the same wages they were being paid before they were laid off, or even perhaps at a higher wage, because that is the way "job creators" always have operated in this exceptional country of ours. Otherwise, one might suggest that the governor has decided that it's North Carolina's turn to prance around in Mississippi drag.

He also explains to the 400,000 jobless North Carolinians that the way he has decided to fck with their lives proves he's the same tough guy they voted for. "I will not outsource these tough decisions," said Governor McCrory. And good for you, Sparky. This "bipartisan" atrocity was rushed through in two weeks with no legislative input from any of the groups that represent the people most directly affected by the new policy. And, of course, there could be no help sought from the federal government because federal funds have radioactive government cooties on them.

The N.C. Senate passed a bill Tuesday that overhauls the state's system for paying benefits to unemployed workers. That needed tackling, but the way the legislature did it unnecessarily costs the state $780 million from the federal government. Lawmakers could have made all the changes they did and still receive the $780 million by delaying them for just six months. Gov. Pat McCrory, meanwhile, said Tuesday that he does not want the federal government to pay 100 percent of health insurance costs for 500,000 poor North Carolinians. The House could vote as soon as Wednesday to pass a bill that turns down $2 billion in federal money per year for three years, and billions more in the years after that.
The unemployed in North Carolina simply will have to be content with being the latest burnt offerings on the altar of a failed ideology that is becoming an embarrassment to cults of naked pagans.

By Charles P. Pierce

THE REAL THREAT FROM NORTH KOREA

2013-04-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

CNN reported Thursday morning that intercepted communications indicate that North Korea may be planning to launch ballistic missiles “within days,” in yet another potential escalation. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin also told a government panel on Thursday that North Korea has moved a medium-range missile to its eastern coast, possibly in preparation for either a test or military demonstration.

North Korea’s threat comes from three factors: the unpredictability of its leader, Kim Jong Un; its ongoing nuclear weapons program; and its large amount of conventional weapons. Despite the difficulty it has seen in testing and its lack of large stockpiles of fissile material, North Korea’s nuclear program remains a major concern. North Korea appears to have jump-started the process of getting its plutonium reactor at Yongbon back online, but it will possibly take years to produce enough material for new weapons. At present, North Korea is estimated to have enough plutonium for 10 nuclear warheads, but Pyongyang’s ability to shrink down a nuclear warhead to the size where it would fit on a missile has advanced significantly and the country theoretically maintains rudimentary delivery methods within the region. There is also concern that North Korea could sell its weapons and/or weapons technology to third parties.

Even in light of Pyongyang’s nuclear capacity, North Korea’s large array of missiles and rockets remain a considerable threat to the peace and stability of the region. Of those conventional weapons, North Korea’s short-range Scud and Rodong missiles pose the greatest risk to U.S. assets in the area, given their high number and accuracy. With an estimated 1,800-mile range, the Musudan medium-range missile — which is mostly likely the type moved to the North Korean cost on Thursday — also may pose a significant threat, but its effectiveness has been questioned given the missile’s lack of prominent testing.

North Korea’s longer range missiles — the Taepodong-2 and Uhna rocket — are less reliable, both in accuracy and in performance. In 2006, a test of the Taepodong-2 completely failed, as did its use in an attempt to place a satellite in orbit in 2009. In Dec. 2012, North Korea did successfully test the Unha rocket, claiming to use it to a satellite in orbit. Estimates of the range for the Unha places it at approximately 4,500 miles — able to reach the U.S. West Coast — although experts have said that it is highly unlikely that North Korean missiles can hit the U.S. mainland and the Unha’s accuracy is completely unknown.

In any case, it is more likely that the launch of North Korean missiles would be a threat to U.S. allies and assets in the region, including South Korea and Japan. South Korea is well-within range of the shortest range missiles, with Seoul being only 35 miles from the Demilitarized Zone. That short distance also lends itself to the possibility that North Korea could drop a nuclear bomb on the country, rather than launch a nuclear warhead. Japan, while not particularly caught in this current spiral, has also been on the receiving end of North Korea’s threats. The two countries are home to a combined 64,000 U.S. forces, stationed in bases at Okinawa, the DMZ, and other locations.

In response to the DPRK’s provocations, the Pentagon on Wednesday announced the early deployment of a missile defense system to Guam. The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Missile (THAAD) system has been in the works since at least 2009, but the sped up positioning can be seen as a “better safe than sorry” approach to countering Pyongyang’s threats. Earlier this week, the U.S. also moved two anti-missile ships — the U.S.S. John S. McCain and U.S.S. Decatur — into position off the Korean coast.

Whether or not the North Koreans will follow through on their threat is the question that’s hanging over all responses to the saber-rattling from Pyongyang. Given the frequency that such incidences have occurred in the past, many experts believe this to be another attempt to gain food aid or attention. Hwang Jihwan, a North Korea expert at the University of Seoul, said in an interview with the Associated Press that Pyongyang “is keeping tension and crisis alive to raise stakes ahead of possible future talks with the United States.” Likewise, Vanderbilt University’s James Auer is of the belief that the whole thing is an attempt to distract from the malnutrition and environment of repression in the state.

But there is reason to be concerned as the North Koreans have recently announced an end to the 1953 Armistice Agreement and pledged to attack the U.S. and its allies in the region. The Obama administration appears to be taking the situation very seriously having already announced the revival of a battery of missile interceptors in Alaska to protect the West Coast. The defensive maneuvers are coming amid reports that the administration is taking greater precautions in showing force towards North Korea, out of fear that a miscommunication would drive Kim Jong-Un into taking rash action. That inability to predict accurately just what action the North will take is what has made this most recent series of escalations the most worrying since the end of the Korean War.

By
Hayes Brown
ThinkProgress

GREENSBORO'S DEMOCRATIC MISSION : THE REPORT

2013-03-30T03:47:00.001-07:00

It cost $3,000 to print 700 copies, and it was published two months ago by the Beloved Community Center, a nonprofit created by three ministers two decades ago to help make Greensboro more inclusive.

The report brings up 14 cases of what the authors see as examples of a “subculture” of corruption, racism and double standards. The authors and supporters see the report as crucial in starting a conversation to help improve the police and the city.

The conversation continues Thursday with a meeting at the Greensboro Historical Museum, an appropriate place, supporters say, for a document they see as critical in shaping the future of Greensboro.

Or is it?

Local officials sure don’t see it that way. They say the report is rife with factual errors, half-truths and conclusions that are just plain wrong. City Manager Denise Turner Roth calls it “irresponsible,’’ and police Chief Ken Miller sees it as a device that divides rather than unites.

So, who to believe?

That depends on where you sit and how you view history.

Start at the intersection of Arlington Street and Martin Luther King Drive, just beyond the railroad tracks. That’s where the Beloved Community Center sits. It’s a two-story brick building beside two basketball goals and a parking lot surrounded by a chain-link fence.

It’s a place that stokes a religious zeal in the people who gather here. And those people include retired ministers, recent college grads, small-business owners, college professors, longtime community activists and a former mayor.

They’re passionate about what they do, and they’re passionate about this report. They see it as a way to engage the community and talk about allegations they have raised for years.

They call the report “Our Democratic Mission,’’ and the people who support it talk a lot about history. They say Greensboro is a city with a mill-town mentality where the police always have protected interests of the powerful.

Still do, they say.

To back up their claims, they pull out documents and copies of old newspaper articles in an effort to show how the poor, the disenfranchised and people of color have had problems for decades with the Greensboro Police Department.

Those problems include harassment, reputed incidents of discrimination and a 1980 report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that gives a damning conclusion about Greensboro and its reaction to race.

The 1980 report is called, “Black/White Perceptions: Race Relations in Greensboro.’’

It says:

“Greensboro’s leading citizens tend to deny responsibility for the circumstances that create them, blaming society instead as a whole for the ills. Such official inattention contributes to black residents’ lack of interest in and alienation from city government.’’

That is Greensboro from 33 years ago. But is that true today?

At Arlington and Martin Luther King, the answer is yes.

At the intersection of Washington and Greene streets, the answer is a resounding no.

Look no further than a second-floor office that overlooks the Carolina Theatre. There, Roth sits. She’s Greensboro’s top administrator in a local government where she has more authority than the mayor.

Roth is married, a mother to a 4-year-old she calls C.J. And she’s black.

“Professionally, as a city manager, I’m not going to be a part of a leadership that creates a setting where African Americans or minorities are put under someone’s thumb,’’ she says. “I’m not going to let that happen as an African American woman and as a mother whose child is growing up in this city.

“If that was happening, I’d be first in line to act.”

The Rev. Nelson Johnson, the executive director of the Beloved Community Center, sees a different Greensboro.

As far back as 1972, he has questioned police tactics. In November 1979, he helped organize a Death to the Klan rally in east Greensboro. The rally wanted to snuff out racism. The rally led to death.

Five Communist Workers Party members — four white men, one black woman — were killed and 10 people were wounded when they clashed with Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan and turned Morningside Homes into a shooting gallery.

It became one of the bloodiest days in Greensboro’s history, a day for which people still question the lack of police presence. There was none.

Johnson was there, and he wasn’t injured. But 34 years later, he is still linked to November 1979 and the conflict some in Greensboro will always believe he and his group caused. Some in Greensboro hate him for that. He knows that. Yet after nearly four decades of activism, Johnson is not the man he once was.

In November 1979, he was a rally organizer in a black beret. Now, he is the minister of Faith Community Church, a grandfather of four who will turn 70 in April. He helped write “Our Democratic Mission.’’

“This is not my problem or the black community’s problem; it’s Greensboro’s problem, and every last one of us needs to play a role,’’ he says. “At the end of the day, we’re not blaming anyone. We want to find a resolution to a very real problem, and how do you help people see that? You write a book.’’

To solve perceived problems in the police department, the report gives a handful of suggestions. Here are some: Fire leaders of the so-called subculture, award “substantial’’ damages to the people affected and create a citizens’ review board.

A citizens’ review board has been talked about for decades.

“If there is no real citizen voice related to their exercise of power, then our rule of law doesn’t work,’’ says Carolyn Allen, 80, a former mayor who supports the report.

The police department is definitely wrestling with its past. Thirty-nine police officers are suing the city, charging racial discrimination under the administration of former Chief David Wray, who resigned in 2006.

In the fall, those lawsuits are expected to wind up in court.

But that’s just the beginning. Wray has claimed in published reports that he was discriminated against because he is white. A Latino officer has alleged he was abused by supervisors and peers because he is Latino.

A local weekly alleged that a “Black Mafia’’ ran the department and implied that black officers were corrupt and white officers weren’t. Meanwhile, more black officers, including a former captain, have said they have been discriminated against.

None of this under Ken Miller. He’s from Charlotte. And he’s the son of a police officer.

He started out as a patrol officer nearly a quarter-century ago in the Queen City, and he rose through the ranks, serving as Charlotte’s senior deputy chief before becoming Greensboro’s top cop three years ago.

He comes with no attachment, no baggage to the department’s past controversies. He’s low-key, a married father of two who loves restoring homes and watching the Carolina Panthers.

When he was sworn in, he vowed to rebuild community trust through honesty, accountability and dignity. After three years, he says he has.

A survey this year shows more local folks feel better about the police department. Meanwhile, Miller says police officers undergo training to help them better understand the use of force, the need for professionalism and the nuances of race.

So, when he reads the report from the Beloved Community Center, he sees nothing he can believe.

“It divides our city, and that’s painful,’’ he says. “This organization works very hard to police the community in a fair and equitable way, no matter who you are or where you live.’’

No matter what you believe, this report strikes at the very core of who we are — or who we don’t want to be — as a city.

Sure, you can ignore it and chalk it up to the same old tired storyline rolled out by the lions of local protests from long ago. Or you can read it, think about it and make up your own mind.

One thing, though, is indisputable.

Both sides of the report — the supporters and the opponents — want the same thing. They want a more open, trusting city that will provide jobs, offer a good education and make people proud.

The big question is this: How do we get there?

Jeri Rowe

jeri.rowe@news-record.com

GOP Seeks to Curb Early Voting in NC

2013-03-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

RALEIGH, N.C. — Two bills filed by Republican lawmakers seek to cut back early voting and eliminate same-day registration in North Carolina.

Senate Bill 428, filed by Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, would cut the early voting period from two weeks to one and would eliminate same-day voter registration.

House Bill 451, filed by Rep. Edgar Starnes, R-Caldwell, goes even further. In addition to cutting early voting and same-day registration, it would also outlaw early voting on Sunday and straight-ticket voting.

"I just think that we will put some balance into the election process," Starnes said.

Democrats say such bills are intended to make it harder to vote and will disproportionately affect low-income, working and minority voters – groups that traditionally favor Democrats.
The Sunday ban, in particular, would affect popular "Souls to the Polls" voting drives at African-American churches.

"I think Sundays just should be – some things you just shouldn't do on Sundays, so I am just opposed to voting on Sunday," Starnes said.

Both parties have benefited from early voting in North Carolina, which has become increasingly popular. More than 2 million voters, or about 40 percent of those who voted statewide, used one-stop sites in the 2012 general election.

Straight-ticket voting is also a popular option for voters in both parties. In 2012, 1.4 million Democrats and 1.1 million Republicans in North Carolina voted a straight-party ticket.

Tillman said his bill isn't meant to be partisan, noting all voters would still have equal access to the polls. Meanwhile, he said, keeping early voting sites open for two weeks costs money that could be better spent elsewhere.

"We're paying people for two weeks to run those election centers, OK?" he said. "Let's cut it to one week, and we can do the same thing. It's not to disenfranchise anybody."

GOP lawmakers opted last year not to spend $664,000 required to draw down $4.7 million in federal Help America Vote Act funds, which would have helped provide equipment and training to speed the early voting process.

Florida gained national attention for eight-hour lines and voting problems in the 2012 election after Republican lawmakers there enacted similar legislation to limit early voting.

Republican Gov. Rick Scott supported Florida's legislation when he signed it in 2011, but after last fall's debacle, he's now proposing to roll back the restrictions and restore early voting hours.

House Minority leader Larry Hall said North Carolina legislators should make it easier to vote, not harder.

"They should let all North Carolinians have their constitutional right to vote, unfettered, and stop trying to take it away," said Hall, D-Durham. "Hopefully, the public's going to catch on and understand that people are trying to keep them from voting, and we're going to continue to push the idea with the public that they should be able to vote and elect their leaders."

by
Laura Leslie

@NC Capitol

Overturn DOMA Now!

2013-03-27T08:38:00.001-07:00

Overturn DOMA Now!

With the Supreme Court hearing arguments on the constitutionality of the Defense Against Marriage Act, we need to be unequivocal: There is no place for this discriminatory law.

All lawfully married couples — including same-sex couples — should receive the same benefits of marriage under federal law

NORTH CAROLINA VOTING BY THE NUMBERS

2013-03-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

21 million—estimated number of votes cast in North Carolina elections in the last 12 years (Testimony Before North Carolina Assembly Committee on Voter ID on March 13 by Keesha Gaskins, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law)

1—number of cases of voter impersonation fraud that occurred in North Carolina in the last 12 years according to the State Board of Elections (Ibid)

5—number of votes per million cast in North Carolina from 2004 to 2010 that involved fraud that a voter ID law MAY have prevented according to investigations by the State Board of Elections (“The Facts About Voter ID,” Democracy North Carolina)

86—total number of convictions for improper voting found in five-year national investigation by of tens of millions of votes by the U.S. Department under the administration of President George W. Bush (“In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud,” New York Times, April 12, 2007)

500,000—estimate number of people in North Carolina may not have a current NC driver’s license or state-issue photo ID card according to the State Board of Elections (Democracy North Carolina)

22—percentage of currently active North Carolina voters who are African-American (“Who Doesn’t Have a Photo ID?” Democracy North Carolina)

32—percentage of active voters without a valid NC photo ID who are African-American (Ibid)

18—percent of active voters who are seniors over 65 (Ibid)

26—percent of active voters without a valid NC photo ID who are seniors over 65 (Ibid)

54—percent of active voters who are women (Ibid)

66— percent of active voters without a valid NC photo ID who are women (Ibid)

20 million—amount in dollars of the potential cost of a comprehensive voter ID program in North Carolina. (“The Facts About Voter ID,” Democracy North Carolina, and the Institute of Southern Studies)

95,000—amount in dollars of annual costs that the State of Maryland estimated it would cost one each county to hire and train elections’ officials to examine IDs of voters. (“The Facts About Voter ID,” Democracy North Carolina)

16.9 million—amount in dollars that Missouri officials estimated it would cost for outreach efforts about Voter ID laws to avoid voter confusion and make sure legitimate voters aren’t turned away at the polls. (Ibid)

BY

NC POLICY WATCH
a program in the in the North Carolina Justice Center

contributed by.
William A. Franklin/Thedemocraticvoicelamance.com

THE 5 WORST THINGS ABOUT THE GOP BUDGET

2013-03-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) released the third iteration of the GOP budget on Tuesday morning. The document achieves balance in 10 years by maintaining the high revenue levels and health care savings that Republicans have vociferously opposed and slashing the health and safety net programs that middle and lower income Americans rely on. Top-income earners and corporations, meanwhile, would benefit from huge tax breaks.
Here are the five worst things about Paul's Ryan’s budget:

1. GIVES HUGE TAX CUTS TO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS: Ryan’s plan would reduce both top income and corporate tax rates to 25 percent, resulting in trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. The government would lose roughly $7 trillion in revenues compared to Ryan’s projections, and while he plans to close loopholes to pay for the cuts, he has in the past failed to specify which loopholes he would close, and raising enough revenue from the elimination of tax expenditures would prove politically difficult, if not impossible. Ryan would also convert the corporate tax code to an “international” plan, resulting in an even bigger giveaway to American companies that are already paying historically low tax rates.

2. FORCES SENIORS TO PAY MORE FOR HEALTH CARE: Beginning 2024, the guaranteed Medicare benefit would be transformed into a government-financed “premium support” system. Seniors currently under the age of 55 could use their government contribution to purchase insurance from an exchange of private plans or traditional fee-for-service Medicare. But the budget does not take sufficient precautions to prevent insurers from cherry-picking the the healthiest beneficiaries from traditional Medicare and leaving sicker applicants to the government. As a result, traditional Medicare costs could skyrocket, forcing even more seniors out of the government program. The budget also adopts a per capita cost cap of GDP growth plus 0.5 percent, without specifying how it would enforce it. This makes it likely that the cap would limit the government contribution provided to beneficiaries.

3. JEOPARDIZES MEDICAID: The budget would eliminate the exiting matching-grant financing structure of Medicaid and would instead give each state a pre-determined block grant that does not keep up with actual health care spending. This would shift some of the burden of Medicaid’s growing costs to the states, forcing them to — in the words of the CBO — make cutbacks that “involve reduced eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP, coverage of fewer services, lower payments to providers, or increased cost sharing by beneficiaries—all of which would reduce access to care.”

4. REPEALS HEALTH COVERAGE FROM 30 MILLION AMERICANS: The budget repeals the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to purchase health insurance coverage, the establishment of health insurance exchanges, the provision of subsidies for lower-income Americans, the expansion of the Medicaid program, and tax credits for small businesses that provide insurance coverage. As a result, more than 30 million Americans would lose coverage and the budget would eliminate the new law’s consumer protections, which have already benefited tens of millions of Americans. States across the country are already implementing the law and a growing number of Republican governors have finally agreed to expand their Medicaid programs.

5. CUTS FOOD STAMPS: The budget seeks to turn most social safety net programs into block grants to the states that are modeled after the 1996 welfare reform law. That would result in devastating cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), women, infant, and children programs, and other parts of the social safety net that keep millions of people out of poverty each year. Since welfare reform occurred 16 years ago, it has failed to reach many families with children in poverty, particularly during the latest economic recession. Ryan’s budget would make most safety programs equally as impotent.

By
Igor Volsky, Travis Waldron and Tara Culp-Ressler
ThinkProgress

THE WORLD HAS A NEW POPE!!!

2013-03-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires,Argentina has been elected to be the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Francis. Francis was elected to the papacy after two days of conclave meetings with a total of five ballots cast. Voting in the conclave, which began Tuesday afternoon, is confidential and cardinals were sworn to secrecy, but Francis received at least 77 votes, which is the minimum two-thirds required to become pope. There were 115 cardinals eligible .

White smoke appeared at the Sistine Chapel chimney on Wednesday afternoon indicating that a pope has been elected and has accepted the position. According to Catholic tradition, the newly appointed Bishop of Rome is the 266th successor of St. Peter and leader of the worldwide Catholic Church consisting of 1.2 billion Catholics. The white smoke appeared at 7:05 p.m. CET (2:05 p.m. EDT / 11:05 a.m. PDT) time after five rounds of voting.!

EAST BURLINGTON WORKSHOP

2013-03-12T11:01:00.001-07:00

“I think this is great, this is fantastic,” said Amy Nelson, Burlington’s planning and economic development director, who helped facilitate the meeting. “It shows how much you care about your community.”

Nelson, other city staff members and Burlington police officers broke the group of roughly 125 people into three smaller groups, and took notes on the issues residents and other east Burlington stakeholders discussed.

Some of the recurring themes were the lack of public transportation, the need to clean up major streets and front porches, and a perceived divide in mentality when considering west or east Burlington.

Regarding public transportation, Steve Smith said, “I’ve been in this city for 11 years and I am strongly convinced we must have a cross-town bus service.” He said the people in east Burlington looking for work who don’t have cars would greatly benefit from the service.
“All the staffing agencies are in west Burlington, and nobody can get to them because there’s no sidewalks,” and no public transportation, Smith said. “It’s long, long overdue.”
Floyd C. Smith chimed in and said he worked in the bus industry in 1951 when Burlington had two bus lines coming through the city. “The city of Burlington didn’t keep the bus terminal in Burlington,” he said. “It went to Graham.”
However, Smith isn’t an advocate for bringing the buses back.

“You cannot make a city bus line make profit. It is a loss, it will be a loss to the taxpayers right here,” he said. “It’s nice to have it,” Smith acknowledged, but said, “It won’t work.”

“It has nothing to do with funding. It’s just we have a lack of knowledge,” countered Devonn Allison. “What people fail to realize is that federal and state funds are available.” She said the city of Eden just established public transportation and it’s smaller than Burlington.
“Burlington, they don’t want to put the effort forth,” Allison said.

Several people mentioned cleaning up major streets – both the pavement itself and the areas bordering the roads. There were complaints of potholes in the street, and trash, tires and other debris littering the sides of the roads.

One person said they’d like to see the whole of Church Street cleaned up, and another suggested establishing a program in which individuals or groups could adopt streets and take personal pride in keeping them clean. The beautification and improvement of city gateways on Church Street was also mentioned.
Ann Anderson said it was a mistake to transplant the historic depot to the middle of Main Street, making a permanent divide between the east and west sides of town. “It was already dilapidated,” she said. “It should have been torn down.”

John Peterson also brought up the divide in Burlington, but was more concerned about the perception of each side, and the resulting difference in responses east Burlington received from the city. For example, he said he believes ordinances are enforced more strictly in the west side of town than in east Burlington.

Peterson said he owns an insurance office in Correct Time Plaza, in west Burlington, and when someone placed a car with a “For Sale” sign on the lot, someone with the city told the owner it had to be removed.

Now Peterson owns an insurance office in east Burlington, at the corner of Mebane Street and Graham-Hopedale Road, and people are allowed to set out washers and dryers, mopeds and other unattractive items without repercussion.

“There’s a different mentality,” when it comes to dealing with issues on the east side of town. “Just treat both sides the same.”

Others discussed establishing more programs for the youth ages 20-30, establishing a shuttle to and from city council meetings so interested residents without cars could still attend, and involving the Hispanic community.

All the issues raised Thursday night will be given to the city council, and volunteer committee leaders will soon be chosen from the group that attended the meeting. Their names and contact information will eventually be posted on the Community Workgroup on East Burlington’s page on the city’s website, as will future meeting datesgymnasium..

Visit www.BurlingtonNC.gov/EastBurlington.com

Obama Signs Expanded Violence Against Women Act

2013-03-07T17:56:00.003-08:00

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama signed a law Thursday expanding protections for victims of domestic violence, renewing a measure credited with curbing violence against women a year and a half after it lapsed amid partisan bickering.

WE STILL NEED THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT in North Carolina

2013-03-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed photo ID in 2011. Current GOP Gov. Pat McCrory supports the idea.

This post originally appeared in U.S. News and World Report.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case this month challenging the constitutionality of a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, opponents of the law question whether it's fair, necessary or relevant. "A lot has changed since the 1960s," they argue. "Haven't we overcome?"

The truth is, not enough has changed (and no, we have not). Known as Section 5, the provision requires all or parts of 16 states with a history of discriminatory voting practices to get federal clearance before making any changes in voting procedures. Our strongest tool for warding off voter suppression, Section 5, puts the burden of proof on state and local governments with long histories of suppressing minority votes to show their new voting proposals do not have a discriminatory impact. This was passed in order to stop an endless cycle in which the federal government would strike down unjust voting practices, only to have states subsequently enact new, slightly different problematic voting laws. The precautions of Section 5 effectively block discrimination from occurring.

While it's true that we no longer live in the era of marchers attacked with billy clubs on Bloody Sunday, or the assassination of Mississippi voting rights activist Medgar Evers, the more subtle practices that triggered the passage of Section 5—the smaller tweaks that make voting harder—have not changed. In fact, during the last election cycle we saw them happen en masse.

Eleven states passed restrictive photo ID laws, which changed the type of identification required for voting, allowing citizens to cast a ballot only if they presented limited forms of state-issued photo ID. Five enacted legislation that reduced early voting periods, serving only to make it less convenient and more time-consuming to vote. These policies were designed to make it harder to vote—particularly for African-American and Latino citizens. Luckily, Section 5 was on hand to beat back several of these efforts.

Last year, Section 5 blocked photo ID laws in Texas and South Carolina. Section 5 was also used to reject a Texas redistricting plan intentionally designed to undercut Latino voting power. As the U.S. Department of Justice reviews Mississippi's photo ID law, that legislation is currently on hold. Section 5 continues to play its vital role.

Along with claims of being outdated, however, another common argument leveled against Section 5 is that it's unfair because certain states are targeted while others are not. Meanwhile, jurisdictions that are not covered—Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and most of Florida, for example—have some of the nation's most egregious voting rights records. As the short-sighted reasoning goes, Section 5 should be dismantled because, by prohibiting only some states from passing discriminatory voting laws, it wrongfully discriminates against those jurisdictions. This could not be further off the mark.

It's true that voting continues to be problematic in jurisdictions beyond the reach of Section 5. Yet at a time when voting rights are under assault, the answer is doing more to expand federal oversight in these other states—not doing less by scrapping the most effective civil rights legislation ever enacted.

Whether Congress is capable of working together to add more jurisdictions under Section 5 (which has been done several times since it was first passed) remains to be seen. But what's certain is that striking the provision down will only make it easier for partisan legislatures to manipulate election laws for political gain. We will see more of the kinds of problems we saw in the last election. Voters should not be punished because our lawmakers have failed to act.

The plans for still more voter suppression tactics are already underway. Officials in several covered states, including Georgia, Florida, and Texas, have plans to continue to push photo ID laws or other measures to curtail voting and roll back the hard-fought gains of a free, fair, and accessible democracy. We cannot turn the clock back to the days when unchecked discrimination kept some Americans from the ballot box. Section 5 is our nation's promise that we must continue to uphold.

by
Judith Browne Dianis and Julian Bond

STUDENT LOAN DEBT: A REAL FINANCIAL CLIFF

2013-03-02T13:27:00.003-08:00

Total student debt has nearly tripled over the past eight years, a new report from the New York Federal Reserve has found.

Total student debt stands at $966 billion as of the fourth quarter of 2012, the N.Y. Fed said in press materials, with a 70 percent increase in both the number of borrowers and the average balance per person. The overall number of borrowers past due on their student loan payments has also grown, from under 10 percent in 2004 to 17 percent in 2012.

Fewer people with student loans are buying homes, according to data in the report. Of borrowers ages 25 to 30 who are taking out new mortgages, the percentage of those with student debt has fallen by half, from nearly 9 percent in 2005 to just above 4 percent in 2012.

The fed report sees a connection, stating, "The higher burden of student loans and higher delinquencies may affect borrowers' access to other types of credit and the performance of other debt."

This is what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cited last week when it announced a new inquiry into ways to allow graduates with private student loans to refinance.

CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra told reporters, "Many of us have raised questions about the student debt domino effect on the economy."

"I don't like to use the word 'crisis,' because it's a 'crisis' that really can't melt down the same way that the mortgage market did," Chopra said on HuffPost Live. "In fact, a lot of the student loan issues are just going to be a drag on the economy, because young people aren't going to be able to participate like a generation ago when they're making very large payments out of their salaries every single month instead of putting it to better use."

The growth in student debt is due to a combination of more students attending college, more parents taking out loans for their children's education and a lack of options to discharge the debt, the fed reports. In 2005, congressional Republicans pushed through a new law that made private student loans nearly impossible to discharge in bankruptcy. While student debt tops all other forms of consumer debt, it's the only kind that cannot be absolved in bankruptcy.

The fed's report comes less than 24 hours before the federal sequester is scheduled to take effect, the automatic budget cuts that will cut off federal financial aid for as many as 280,000 students nationwide.

By
The Huff Post