Comment Archives: Stories
Re: “Neu Romance ends its 10-year run in Raleigh this weekend”
Still wearing my Neu Romance t-shirt, Chico. See you around.
Re: “Durham's new free outdoor summer concert series announces lineup”
It’s a pleasant way to spend the evening – a meaty snack, some friends, a few cocktails, a gorgeous Colorado night and some jams. http://bit.ly/10Lb9Yc
Re: “Duke removes four anti-immigration groups from Fred Stanback Internship Program”
FAIR did not return phone calls or emails requesting information and an interview. Since that organization is the mothership for the others, that's whom I contacted.
Re: “How 2013 became 1984: A one-act play in which NC GOP lawmakers write bills using Newspeak”
I said over a decade ago that 1984 was supposed to be a warning, not an instruction manual.
Re: “How 2013 became 1984: A one-act play in which NC GOP lawmakers write bills using Newspeak”
These country bumpkins are in reality secret Muslims who want to introduce Shariah law in North Carolina. The first step is to deny the first amendment applies to NC.
Re: “How 2013 became 1984: A one-act play in which NC GOP lawmakers write bills using Newspeak”
And then there's the "Healthy Marriage Act," per a note to me from NARAL Pro-Choice NC. It's Senate Bill 516, which would require that unhappy couples tough it out for two years before they'd be eligible for an "absolute divorce." Thus, the title is the opposite of what the bill really is -- an "Unhealthy Marriage Act."
George Orwell would definitely recognize this language -- from the bill -- as Big Brother watching your relationship, ready to step in and punish the unfortunate woman (or man) who chose an abusive spouse:
AN ACT AMENDING THE LAWS PERTAINING TO DIVORCE TO ESTABLISH A TWO-YEAR WAITING PERIOD TO FILE FOR AN ABSOLUTE DIVORCE; TO ALLOW A COUPLE TO LIVE TOGETHER DURING THE TWO-YEAR WAITING PERIOD; AND TO REQUIRE UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES THAT PRIOR TO FILING FOR AN ABSOLUTE DIVORCE A COUPLE COMPLETE COURSES ON COMMUNICATION AND THE IMPACT OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN.
Re: “Duke removes four anti-immigration groups from Fred Stanback Internship Program”
FAIR's "Environmental Impact" statement also makes the following very clear:
"When immigrants come to the United States, they do not maintain the traditional lifestyle of their home country. Rather, they quickly adapt to the American lifestyle. As they do, they become greater consumers and polluters; their individual ecological footprint increases."
Seems pretty obvious -- the problem is not immigration. The problem is the lifestyle of those of us already here. Immigrants do make a useful scapegoat, now don't they?
Re: “Duke removes four anti-immigration groups from Fred Stanback Internship Program”
It isn't too difficult to see FAIR's advocacy on environmental issues, if one were to look.
http://www.fairus.org/issue/environmental-…
http://www.fairus.org/issue/the-united-sta…
http://www.fairus.org/issue/the-population…
http://www.fairus.org/issue/rating-environ…
http://www.fairus.org/publications/immigra…
And then there is FAIR's mission statement:
"The mission of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is to examine immigration trends and effects, to educate the American people on the impacts of sustained high-volume immigration, and to discern, put forward, and advocate immigration policies that will best serve American environmental, societal, and economic interests today and into the future."
As for the SPLC,there's this: http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/kin…
and this: http://www.counterpunch.org/2009/05/15/kin…
Re: “Duke removes four anti-immigration groups from Fred Stanback Internship Program”
Lisa, did you ask anyone at FAIR or any of the other organizations about this? Why does the Sierra Club's position, which your article makes clear was taken for political reasons, mean that other groups cannot continue to highlight the population-immigration connection?
If you are aware of the connection between population growth and immigration, why did you write the article in such a way that suggested they were completely separate concerns? The Pew report you reference attributes the decline in birthrates to economic considerations. Those short-term trends you cite don't do much to change the role of immigration in driving US population growth in the long run.
Even if that was the case, your failure to even mention the connection reflects a real bias on your part. Stanback had legitimate reasons to emphasize immigration as part of his environmental program. Certainly legitimate enough for you to MENTION them, rather than using a few memos by John Tanton as your only representation of the organizations' positions.
Re: “The international house of the Carolina RailHawks”
love the international aspects of the beautiful game!
Re: “Duke removes four anti-immigration groups from Fred Stanback Internship Program”
I wrote that the environment is not a focus for FAIR. The group's annual reports, which summarizes its activities for the year, make scant mention of any environmental activism.
The quotes from Gaylord Nelson, etc. are widely quoted by FAIR, etc. to justify its position. However, the Sierra Club has taken a neutral stance on immigration.
http://www.splcenter.org/greenwash-nativists-environmentalism-and-the-hypocrisy-of-hate/an-early-battle-defending-the-sierra
It’s true that immigrants and their descendants arriving since 2005 are expected to account for 82 percent of U.S. population growth through 2050. However, the U.S. birth rate dipped in 2011 to the lowest ever recorded, led by a plunge in births to immigrant women, according to a November 2012 report by the Pew Research Center. The birth rate for foreign women fell 14 percent; for Mexican women, the decline was even greater—23 percent.
Re: “Duke removes four anti-immigration groups from Fred Stanback Internship Program”
The bigger the population gets, the more serious the problems become…. We have to address the population issue. The United Nations, with the U.S. supporting it, took the position in Cairo in 1994 that every country was responsible for stabilizing its own population. It can be done. But in this country, it's phony to say "I'm for the environment but not for limiting immigration."
-Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day
"It is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest."
- Barbara Jordan, former Congresswoman from Texas and Chair of the
U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform
"I did tell [Sierra Club Executive Director] Carl Pope in 1994 or 1995 that if they ever came out anti-immigration, they would never get a dollar from me."
- $100 million Sierra Club donor, David Gelbaum
"Overpopulation is perhaps the biggest problem facing us, and immigration is part of the problem. It has to be addressed."
- David Brower, message of resignation from the Sierra Club board of directors
Re: “Duke removes four anti-immigration groups from Fred Stanback Internship Program”
FAIR isn't concerned about the environment?
http://www.fairus.org/DocServer/Unsustaina…
http://www.fairus.org/DocServer/Water_repo…
The Pew Research Center has found that immigration drives 85% of US population growth. These organizations were founded by environmentalists who were concerned about population growth, and they dedicate resources to investigating environmental concerns.
Re: “Court case threatens Orange County's successful recycling program”
Will NC always remain red-neck backwards?
Re: “Yum, Durham is the tastiest, says Southern Living”
Hi Lisa, Go to Monuts. The bagels are awesome. I've only had a breakfast sandwich on them...too many breakfast sandwiches.
Leon Grodski de Barrera
Re: “Outlaw Hot Dogs vendor says commissary rule is unconstitutional”
I am going though the the same problemhere in catawba county nc, the inspector has been putting the scare in the commissaries ive been trying to use.....
One commissary is an owner I know who is a member of the lions club and im the pres..
she was told that she must give me a key to her rest... and she siad no... so he inspected her place....so im am screwed, he even stated he does not do inspection!!!!!!!
Re: “N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)”
Jacob Teeter says, "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."
It doesn't, but you're missing the point.
One person, or a group of people, can pray to whatever they want to prior to the meeting, during the meeting, or after the meeting so long as they do it *on their own*.
They just can't lead a prayer in their role as a government official that is included in the public record because they implies government endorsement of a religion.
It's really simple. If you want to pray, do it on your own time, not the public's time.
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.
Re: “Up Goose Creek”
A compliment to this article is needed in another article that shows Goose Creek's state as of the present. This site is a point of pride, I believe for the city of Durham. By establishing a conservation easement and re-invigorating the restoration effort to more ecological standards of success, the site is testimony to the perserverance of Durham as a community. Or maybe they are just trying to get mitigation credits to build up downtown. Regardless, it was a great way to bridge restoration with the redevelopment of a low-income housing neighborhood.
Re: “Danny Boyle's heist film Trance is slick”
It’s important to understand that hypnosis is NOT a tool for retrieving lost memories – period. “Memories” that surface during hypnosis are notoriously unreliable. With a little guidance from the hypnotist, the subject may “remember” things that never happened – from past lives to alien abductions. In reality, clinical hypnosis is a powerful tool that can help with a wide variety of emotional, cognitive, and even physical issues. It is essential that the person doing the hypnosis be a professional clinician who has solid credentials, such as membership in one of the major clinical hypnosis associations. See http://ronaldgbegley.com for more info.