North Carolina’s federal courts remain remarkably undiverse It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that President Obama has done a better job than his predecessors in attempting to bring some diversity to the judges who serve in the federal judiciary. Senate ultra-conservatives continue to stymie several worthy and highly-rated appointees, but at least the [Continue Reading...]
The Governor’s unfortunate delay in speaking out on the discrimination amendment It frequently surprises a lot of people that, when it comes to state constitutional amendments, the Governor of North Carolina has no more formal power than an average citizen. Unlike most other bills that come out of the General Assembly, proposed [Continue Reading...]
Lawmakers slash teacher training program in response to ridiculous, ideological attacks North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis has been on a speaking tour of sorts lately. Over recent weeks, Tillis has turned up in several communities to hold forth on various topics, including the 2011 legislative session. For the most part, his presentations have [Continue Reading...]
The Duke-Progress merger ignores low-income consumers There are a lot of very good reasons to oppose the proposed merger ofNorth Carolina’s two regulated electricity giants, Duke Energy and Progress Energy. As speaker after speaker told the North Carolina Utilities Commission at a public hearing on Tuesday (you can watch a WRAL.com video [Continue Reading...]
Campaign over discrimination amendment will change North Carolina in ways unforeseen There’s been some talk in light of the General Assembly’s decision this week to approve the so-called “marriage amendment” that “not much will really change.” According to this line of thinking – promoted mostly by amendment supporters – all their decision to [Continue Reading...]
Opponents of gay marriage take off the muzzles Supporters and opponents of a proposal to amend the North Carolina constitution to ban same-sex marriage held competing press conferences in Raleigh on Tuesday. The events took place in anticipation of a special session of the General Assembly that Republican leaders will convene next week [Continue Reading...]
International expert outlines a better approach to business incentives Few developments in modern times highlight the overpowering influence of large corporations on American public policy and politics so well as the steady expansion of business “incentives” – the practice of paying companies with public dollars in the hope that they will locate or [Continue Reading...]
North Carolina’s historic opportunity to stop warehousing people with mental illness These are tough times in North Carolina. The economy continues to struggle. Anti-government zealots have seized control of many of the reins of government. Public employees are dispirited. Essential public programs have been damaged by needless, often spiteful funding cuts. A new [Continue Reading...]
Why the right tries to poison people against their own government One of the best (and sappiest) American holiday movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life” – the story of a small town businessman named George Bailey (played by actor Jimmy Stewart) who foregoes his dreams of conquering the world in order to [Continue Reading...]
The legislator-to-lobbyist route for state politicians is mostly a one-way path One of the big issues that’s always brought up by the news media and good government advocates when it comes to improving ethics in state government is the need to close the “revolving door” between public service and private industry. Among many [Continue Reading...]
Pattern shift strengthens case for immigration reform Immigration has always been the subject of a lot of mythmaking. In recent years in particular, anti-immigrant activists have inundated the American policy debate with so much hateful rhetoric and so many wild-eyed claims about people from south of the border “invading” theUnited Statesand seeking to [Continue Reading...]
Economic inequality and tax injustice really are out of control Unlike most of the right-wing counterparts, American progressives are frequently a self-doubting bunch. In many ways, it comes with the territory. When it’s a basic tenet of your philosophy that the world is complex and full of imperfections and gray areas, it can [Continue Reading...]
What the House Speaker ought to say about “Salary-gate” One of the hottest topics of discussion in North Carolina these days is a matter that some folks have taken to calling “Salary-gate”: House Speaker Thom Tillis’ decision to give sizable pay raises to his staff at the same time that he [Continue Reading...]
Competing legislative events tell us a lot about the state policy debate The North Carolina General Assembly returned to Raleigh this week to deal with a hodgepodge of election/redistricting issues as well as a number of potential veto overrides. This week, only the Senate is in active mode. At other times, it may only [Continue Reading...]
Senator Hagan’s misguided support of a tax “holiday” for giant multinational corporations Most Americans, quite understandably, find tax law confusing as heck. It’s hard enough to know what to do with one’s own taxes, much less develop an informed opinion on the taxes paid (or, frequently, not paid) by Exxon or Microsoft. Still, [Continue Reading...]
