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Re: “Last chance to publicly support Dix park”
Can anyone explain how the GA can legally do this? A contract is a contract, isn't it?
Re: “Rachel Maddow calls N.C. GOP "amazeballs"”
I've always been pleased that North Carolina was more progressive than most of the rest of the south and other right-wing nut-job-dominated red states, but thanks to the results of last year's election, we are joining those ranks at an alarming clip and becoming a national laughing stock. With attempts to establish an official state religion and now these attempts at voter suppression, we have been mocked and reviled in the national media for a solid week. And that's not counting the bill earlier this year to make nipple exposure (women's only) a felony. I am not amused.
Rachel promised another segment about NC for tonight, BTW.
Re: “Code Name Continuity: Carolina RailHawks hope to soar into 2013 NASL season”
Nice article Neil. I think the Railhawks are poised to flourish with the new players and new stadium ammenities.
Re: “How does the NRA rate Sen. Kay Hagan, up for re-election in '14?”
I will encourage everyone I know and actively work for her ouster in 2014 over her willingness to sell-out on the second amendment. I suspect she doesn't care about anything in the constitution ... from freedom of speech to freedom of assembly to religious freedom or the rights of states OVER the feds
Re: “House subcommittee approves rollback of renewable energy”
The opposition to RPS--those supporting this corporate bill--is coordinated. Hager, who was a Duke Energy employee, is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC produced the "Electricity Freedom Act" model bill that Rep. Hager introduced. The text was written by climate change deniers out of Chicago's Heartland Institute. Heartland (and Duke and many others) are private sector members of ALEC.
ALEC & Heartland, as well as John Locke Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, Civitas Institute, and others from inside and outside NC are all coordinated under the umbrella of the State Policy Network. A report on State Policy Network came out today:
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/04/11909/…
I've written about these State Policy Network groups attacking RPS laws in NC, KS and other states:
http://greenpeaceblogs.org/2013/03/14/alec…
Thanks for writing.
Connor Gibson
Greenpeace Research
Re: “Live: Hiss Golden Messenger brings friends, family to the record shop”
dudek, completely agree. And thank you, I just noticed the credits were missing. All photos by Jessie Gladin-Kramer.
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
Like it or not, The United States of America was founded as "One Nation Under God". Furthermore, Wikopedia states, "...According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) (2008) 76% of the American adult population identified themselves as Christians..."
If you don't want to live in a Christian Nation, MOVE ELSEWHERE!!''
How about....no. The 1st Amendment and the Constitution of the United States of America ensures by right that I, nor any other non Christian American, has to stand for such a blatant dictatorial attempt to impose government sponsorship of religion. Furthermore, the Treaty of Tripoli quite clearly states that this was NOT founded as Christian nation and our Constitution's tact of denying the application of a national religion cements it in place. We are a REPUBLIC, a nation of laws. We are not a Christian nation. Get over it.
Re: “Live: Hiss Golden Messenger brings friends, family to the record shop”
Great photos!
Re: “Live: Dex Romweber Duo rips through the catalog in Durham”
Would love to see the Dex Romweber Duo in Detroit again!!!
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
In light of this recent (and numerous previous) embarrassment(s), I'm pushing an initiative to allow the RTP region to go ahead and secede from the rest of the state of North Carolina, and seek the warm, comforting embrace of some (any) other (even slightly) less embarrassing parent state. Come join the fun at http://www.facebook.com/rtpnonc
Re: “Desaparecidos return to Carrboro, highlighting Conor Oberst's inadequacies”
If anyone listens to those songs and thinks that Oberst "sees himself as some kind of Savior," they obviously missed the entire point. He writes them from different points of view to emphasize what the song is about, not to glorify himself.
As far as his music "falling into precise and pretty folk-rock impulses and songs that lack the emotional immediacy of his earlier material," that's completely subjective and invalid. Just because he adjusted what he wrote about from personal angst (even though that's meant to be universal anyway) to broader social issues doesn't mean that the music he made is any less authentic and consistent.
I'm not saying everyone in the world needs to like Conor's music - it isn't exactly easy listening. But I am saying that the man is one of the most prolific and creatively gifted individuals currently in existence, and simply not enjoying what he creates doesn't make that any less true.
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
The current crop of Republicans in Raleigh reminds me of that episode in the Andy Griffith Show where Barney was put in charge of the jail.
And here Barney perfectly captures their grasp of the Constitution...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuPQgV8yBM
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
Whoops...a mistake I can't edit now: I wasn't replying to "Patrique" in that portion of my comment...it was Jacob Teter. My apologies.
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
It's both scary and hilarious that the NC legislators have no clue that Constitution was written to prevent EXACTLY THIS from happening and freedom FROM religious persecution is equal to the freedom TO religion. As an Atheist who believe in factual evidence rather than Mythology, I find it shocking that prayer is not just handled the way other civilized, educated people handle it: "Observing a moment of silence" so that each person can pray in their heads to their Pagan, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, etc Gods....or just do what I do and hope Science keeps giving us the answers the religious people ignore.
Regardless of faith, lack of faith, or even just lack of denomination of faith....this is a laughable bill that doesn't really deserve Supreme Court consideration. The US Constitution and Supreme Court Rulings override the States and it is already illegal to "attempt to obstruct the Federal Laws by the State".
As for the poster who says this is a "Christian Nation" and it's "One Nation, Under God" .....um, no it isn't. Those things were not in the Constitution, God was not on our money until the 1950's, and no founding father ever deemed us a "Christian Nation". You may want to reconsider what is obviously your Southern, religious homeschooling.
It's called "Separation of Church and State". The reason that "the rest of us" who are not Christian do not have to just MOVE AWAY or sit and take it is because we are taxpaying Americans and our right to no religion being forced on us is no lesser than your right to go to Church each Sunday. See, that is why there is no religion in public schools or Government properties or meetings. Because everyone there is EQUAL. Everyone there is a TAXPAYER. Those are all considered "State". So favoring one religion or one God turns the United States into what we call a "Theocracy". A Theocracy is Iran. So perhaps you should take your own advice and move to Iran where you'd be more comfortable wiping your behind with the United States Constitution and what our Nation was founded upon.
And also for the poster, "Patrique"....I could easily say to you: "If you refuse to deny your Mythological beliefs and bow to Science, you can no longer use anything Science has created. Which is everything."
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
I would like someone to explain to me (explicitly) how if a leader decides to pray to God before a government meeting, and a non-believer (be they an atheist, muslim, scientologist, etc.) is present at that meeting, exactly what effect does it have on that person?
Couldn't that person just choose to not participate in the prayer, and/or pray to their God at the same time?
Please explain to me exactly how this would "infringe on their rights"?
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
Marbury v. Madison, the landmark case that Will cites in the article, doesn't directly give the federal courts the authority to declare state laws unconstitutional as to the Bill of Rights, it just asserted the prerogative of the federal courts to adjudicate the constitutionality of laws against the Constitution. Since the language of the Bill of Rights is explicitly directed at federal laws (i.e., because of the language "Congress shall make no law…"), states had far more leeway in the laws they could pass. At the time of Marbury, a state law would likely be declared unconstitutional if it attempted to usurp the enumerated powers given to the federal government. The guarantee that the Bill of Rights applied to the states came with the Fourteenth Amendment, which was adopted in 1868. Even then, there was heated debate about which of the Bill of Rights could be enforced against the states. I don't think it was a given that the First Amendment was incorporated into the Fourteenth against the states. Later cases, though, have held that the substantive portions of the First Amendment do apply to the states.
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
First of all, I fail to see how one person, or group of people praying to their God before a meeting "infringes on the rights" of others (if they so choose) to pray to whomever or whatever they believe is god. In addition, the often quoted establishment clause “Congress shall make no law respecting an Establishment of Religion.” to me says exactly that...congress has no business saying who or what anybody prays to!
"...(Praying before a meeting is legal, but praying to the god of a particular religion is not."- HOW RIDICULOUS of a statement is that? If you are praying to nobody in particular, then how exactly is it considered prayer?
I believe it is high time the majority of us Americans stop allowing ourselves to be pushed around by the minority of people who apparently just want something to whine about when there are much bigger common problems affecting ALL Americans. I say SHUT UP AND PRAY TO WHOEVER YOU WANT!!
Like it or not, The United States of America was founded as "One Nation Under God". Furthermore, Wikopedia states, "...According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) (2008) 76% of the American adult population identified themselves as Christians..."
If you don't want to live in a Christian Nation, MOVE ELSEWHERE!!
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
As a resident and native North Carolinian I can tell you the evil Rethuglican greed and power have decimated our once fair state. I have come to the conclusion that Rethulgicans are pure evil. ABSOLUTE EVIL!
Re: “Last chance to publicly support Dix park”
Anyone? My sense is that that City of Raleigh would easily win the inevitable court case, which would be a ridiculous waste of resources by the state.