Politics

Politics

There are 1,056 posts filed in Politics (this is page 36 of 106).

Highlights of 2013: Giving up the Parks board gavel

It was a great year to be chair of Raleigh’s Parks board. In February, I led what I consider the best meeting I’ve ever led. The energy I from these kinds of meetings will leave me giddily bouncing off the walls for hours. It’s a shame that I get good at this right before I have to turn it over to someone else.

I did get some good park dedications this year, some of which I probably didn’t blog about. In April, I gave what was arguably my best speech at the Neuse River Greenway dedication. I followed that up with a speech at the synthetic field dedication at the WRAL Soccer Complex. Though there wasn’t much of a crowd at this one, it was special because my parents got to witness it.
Continue reading →

Why I fled libertarianism — and became a liberal – Salon.com

After leaving my small town upbringing, I learned that libertarians are made for lots of reasons, like reading the bad fiction of Ayn Rand or perhaps the passable writing of Robert Heinlein. In my experience, most seemed to be poor, white and undereducated. They were contortionists, justifying the excesses of the capitalist elite, despite being victims if libertarian politics succeed.

If you think that selfishness and cruelty are fantastic personal traits, you might be a libertarian. In the movement no one will ever call you an asshole, but rather, say you believe in radical individualism.

via Why I fled libertarianism — and became a liberal – Salon.com.

Highlights of 2013: Volunteering

The year 2013 was a busy year for volunteering. Most of my attention was devoted to Little Raleigh Radio, both as a boardmember and as a volunteer. We obtained equipment and set up a studio on St. Mary’s Street. I configured a music server and helped integrate it into the studio. We worked together in the fall to locate suitable transmitter sites and filed our FCC application.

Then the filing window closed and we saw we were one of five groups to apply for our frequency. Not only that, we were the youngest organization to file, meaning we almost certainly lose out to the others when the FCC grants its license. We’re still plotting our next steps but it’s depressing to see this opportunity slipping away with little we can do about it.
Continue reading →

Opinion: What ‘House of Cards’ gets wrong – Joshua Braver – POLITICO.com

Kelly got me hooked on the Netflix series “House of Cards.” I spent the post-Christmas days going through all 13 episodes from Season 1. While I’m anxiously awaiting next month’s release of Season 2, I found this gem explaining what House of Cards. It’s good to keep this in mind after watching (though it does have some plot spoilers – be warned!)

I pity the writers of House of Cards.Sure, the lurid political drama, which debuted on Netflix earlier this year, has become an Internet sensation, with a dream lineup of actor Kevin Spacey and director David Fincher. Plus it’s now nominated for nine awards at the Emmys this Sunday, including outstanding drama series.

But the show’s writers have an impossible task — which makes for some far-fetched plot twists.

via Opinion: What 'House of Cards' gets wrong – Joshua Braver – POLITICO.com.

Christian Action League boss claims to know God’s position on the Bonner Bridge

Apparently the good reverend isn’t familiar with Matthew 7:26: “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”

According to the Rev. Mark Creech, the Executive Director of North Carolina’s Christian Action League that’s him on the left – Creech, not God, those who side with environmental groups in favor of a longer and more sustainable bridge to replace the existing Bonner Bridge are acting counter to the Divine Plan. Creech said the following in an article that he authored and that was recently published in, among other places, the Christian Post

I also note that Dr. Creech provides no biblical references to back up his claim that a “biblical worldview” means that God wants us to plunder the earth:

The biblical worldview on the environment is that we should responsibly “subdue” (subjugate, restrain, control) and develop the earth and its natural resources in a way that best benefits the human race.

I don’t have any references to back up my position, either, but I’m pretty sure that’s bullshit.

via Christian Action League boss claims to know God’s position on the Bonner Bridge « The Progressive Pulse.

Rucho’s zero income tax?

I was doing some research on this annoying new requirement to fill out another NC-4 form to take advantage of new tax changes. I was reading the N&O’s story on the new changes when I saw the author of the changes, Sen. Rucho himself, had weighed in from his Facebook account:

Every employee was required to maintain a NC-4 and nowNC-4 EZ forms to establish their NC withholding from their pay checks. The standard deduction has been raised to $15K MFJ. That means that the first $15K of income is tax free. Then the NC tax rate has has been lowered to a flat 5.8% for 2014 and to 5.75% for 2015. The result will be that every taxpayer will have a higher take home pay to spend or save as they choose. It is your hard earned money not the governments. The good news is that this is a first step toward a personal Income tax rate of ZERO like Tx, Fl and TN.and a goal to stimulate economic growth and create more good jobs.

We can’t rebuild broken Bonner Bridges with Monopoly money. We can’t pay our teachers national-average-or-above wages with it, either. We can’t pave the tens of thousands of miles of roadways we have here with a capped gasoline tax and zero income taxes. Where will Mr. Rucho get the money?

North Carolina Newspapers Largely Ignore Conservative Funding Of Sham Think Tanks

Interesting look by Media Matters at how Art Pope’s anti-government foundations often get a free pass in N.C.’s press.

Local North Carolina newspapers cited two right-wing sham think tanks and published op-eds by their staffs while often failing to note their connections to the state’s Republican party and to a major conservative donor.

John Locke Foundation Had Op-Eds Published Or Was Cited 106 Times In The Last 6 Months. Between June 1 and December 1, the John Locke Foundation appeared in local and national newspapers a total of 106 times. These appearances included op-eds and references by name in straight news and editorial articles.

64 Percent Of Articles That Referenced JLF Did Not Disclose The Organization’s Conservative Leaning. Out of the 106 JLF mentions in the last six months, only 38 articles disclosed the foundation’s conservative slant, meaning 64 percent of the articles made no mention of the organization’s ideology.

via North Carolina Newspapers Largely Ignore Conservative Funding Of Sham Think Tanks | Research | Media Matters for America.

No, dogs are NOT people

This is not a person

This is not a person


At a dog adoption event last weekend, the governor’s wife, Ann McCrory, explained her philosophy about training dogs. She said “consistency is key.”

“It’s no different from raising children,” she said, “making sure they eat properly and don’t go into the kitchen like my husband and take chocolate chip cookies by the handful.”

Now, I have a lot of sympathy for Mrs. McCrory; it can’t be easy being an introvert in such a high-profile position not of your choosing. I also know this might have made sense in its particular context. Yet with all due respect for Mrs. McCrory, she has no experience with raising children and has no real idea what she’s talking about.

Back during a May public hearing on Raleigh’s dogs-in-parks problem, one speaker ended her statement with this gem. Whatever points she had just made in her statement flew completely out of my mind:

“Remember, all dogs are people in innocent little fur coats.”

Continue reading →

A liberal plant

I joined a Facebook group for Desert Storm Veterans a while back, fascinated by the old war photographs veterans were sharing. Lately, though, a few right wingers were posting trollop from Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, as if this was of interest to everyone. I was about to loudly complain to the group moderator or even considering leaving the group when I saw the moderator’s pinned post at the top of the page:

This is not a sales group anyone trying will be banned….This is also a Free Speech Zone and it will not be sensored [sic.]

Well if the wingnuts are going to post right-wing bullshit in the group then I’m going to counter it with some left-wing nuggets of truth. For every dumbshit post from World Net Daily I’ve been posting some liberal counterpoint.
Continue reading →

Rand Paul Caught Plagiarizing Science Fiction Movie’s Wikipedia Page

This is hilarious. Sen. Rand Paul gave a speech last week that was lifted almost word-for-word from a Wikipedia page about Gattaca.

It was first mentioned on Rachel Maddow’s show. Check it out for some additional quotes.

When discussing Republicans, I often point out that I believe many of them live in some alternate reality which only seems to exist in a fictional world that they’ve created in their minds.In the case of Rand Paul, that world seems to be found in a 1997 science fiction movie starring Ethan Hawke and written by Andrew Nicool, titled Gattaca. Senator Paul used this movie as an example of where he fears we could be headed, but in doing so, seems to have copied excerpts directly from the movie’s Wikipedia page while attempting to explain the plot.

via Forward Progressives — Unbelievable: Rand Paul Caught Plagiarizing Science Fiction Movie’s Wikipedia Page While Giving Speech.