The first time I ever felt anything about the American political system was November 7, 2000. I was ten, and it was utter pessimism. I was mad that George W. Bush had won the election and how he had won. To make matters worse, our kitten had climbed into our basement ceiling. Three hours and […]
Paul Blest
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Area Governor Embroiled In Public Records Lawsuit Unaware What Irony Means
Governor Pat McCrory’s campaign attacked Attorney General Roy Cooper’s lack of accountability in a campaign stunt today, setting up a hotline for people to report “missing” Roy Cooper. When one calls this hotline, they’re greeted by a woman saying, “Have you seen Attorney General Roy Cooper? He’s supposed to be at work, but he doesn’t […]
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The Morning Roundup: LeBron James For President
Good morning, Cleveland is no longer a punchline. 1. The Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Championship. Last night was one of the greatest basketball games of all time. For some background, the Golden State Warriors had the best record in NBA history this year, they were up on the Cavs 3-1 three games ago in […]
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America’s Gun Culture, By the Numbers
Trigger Warning 6,012 People who have died from gun violence in 2016. More than twelve thousand have been injured. (Number accurate as of 5:30 p.m. Monday.) 188 School shootings since 2013. 54 Senators, including Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, who voted no on U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s 2015 proposal to prevent people on the terror […]
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With Donald Trump Leading the GOP, N.C. Dems See an Opening
The last few years haven’t been kind to North Carolina Democrats. From losing the governor’s mansion in 2012 to hemorrhaging seats in the legislature in 2010 and 2012, the party has been impotent to stop a Republican assault on the state’s safety net, education system, and local governments. This year, however, with an unstable slab […]
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The Morning Roundup: More Of the Same
Good morning. 1. This is all so predictable. Two days after the massacre at Pulse in Orlando, world-renowned scumbag Donald Trump gave a national security speech filled with lies, half-truths, and contradictions, in an attempt to drive up fear against Muslims. From the Daily Beast’s solid takedown: Even in the prepared remarks, Trump suggested Muslims […]
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Look At This Stupid Ass Anti-Deborah Ross Snapchat Ad
The National Republic Senatorial Committee, the fundraising arm of the Senate Republican caucus, announced today that it was taking out some ads against Deborah Ross as she gets ever closer to Richard Burr in the polls. There’s this dumb video ad, which takes a page out of the Kevin Griffin playbook by attacking Deborah Ross […]
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The Senate Might Not Override McCrory’s Coal Ash Veto After All
Earlier this week, Governor Pat McCrory vetoed the Duke Energy coal ash bill that saw wide bipartisan support from the House and the Senate, as well as Duke Energy itself, and would have reformed the Coal Ash Management Commission, the Oil & Gas Commission, and the Mining Commission. According to an N&O report on Monday, […]
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The House Wants to Turn Over Struggling Schools to Charter Operators
In recent years, cities such as Detroit and New Orleans, as well as the state of Tennessee, have moved toward replacing some public schools with privately run charters. Last Thursday, the North Carolina House took the first steps in that directioneven though critics say there’s considerable evidence that these plans haven’t worked elsewhere and won’t […]
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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the Senate’s Budget
The Senate passed its $22.2 billion budget shortly after midnight Friday, on a 26–13 party-line vote. There are some good things in itbut also some truly terrible ideas. Below, we’ve highlighted some key provisions to watch as the General Assembly begins the process of reconciling the Senate’s budget with the one the House passed last […]
