Leaving the GOP holding 47,000 empty shackles:

North Carolina cannot wait any longer for the legislature to do what they should have done more than a month ago. Today, I am issuing an executive order extending federal unemployment benefits to these 47,000 North Carolinians. Republican leaders in the General Assembly have been unwilling to take the necessary steps to extend these benefits, and no doubt they will attempt to interfere with this action.

So says the Twitterverse:

zack_hawkins 3:35pm via HTC Peep RT @ConenMorgan RT @NCCapitol: Same sex marriage protestors entered house floor. 3 arrested, incl 2008 US. Senate hopeful Jim Neal. #ncga

You deserve a medal, my friend, not incarceration. Please stop by and let us know you're okay, after they let you out of the Big House. Or whatever house they use to silence dissenters.

In defense of the troops:

The military has taken a special interest in the bill because servicemembers are a favored demographic for lenders making small, unsecured loans at high rates. The industry's critics complain those lenders cluster near the gates of bases, often using flags and military-sounding names to make them seem legitimate or even sanctioned.

They may be professional soldiers, but they're just as vulnerable to financial scam artists as anyone else. Maybe even moreso, because they're often based a thousand miles away from home, lacking the advice of family and friends.

Plus a lot of other good information:

A coalition of concerned citizens will sponsor on June 23 a screening in Greensboro of portions of the film "Gasland" and a discussion of issues related to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in North Carolina.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at Elon University School of Law in downtown Greensboro. The meeting will take place in Room 207. The school is at the intersection of Friendly Avenue and Greene Street, located at 201 North Greene Street.