Hello BlueNCers! I want to thank James Protzman and Betsy Muse for putting this forum together. I always welcome the opportunity to discuss my plans for moving North Carolina forward, and we are certainly breaking new ground in how that discussion is taking place tonight. I think it’s a great thing anytime people can get excited about politics – and there’s certainly a lot more excitement this year with our finally having a say in the Presidential contest.

But it’s also important to make sure that the energy out there doesn’t just fade away once the election passes. And by building a sustainable organization online, you’re working toward a long-term strategy that can push back against the forces on the other side and keep people engaged in the political process. I’m happy to take part in this forum tonight, and I look forward to answering your questions.

As a retired state employee, I'm interested in the long-range health of our state retirement. How does the N.C. retirement system rank with others in the country in soundness of investment, growth, and assurance that there will be funds to cover all retirees.

I think the idea for General Assembly committee meetings is a good one.

Military matters (two questions)

Two questions:

Do you believe the US Navy has made a compelling case that an Outlying Landing Field should be sited in North Carolina? Under what conditions would you support efforts to locate an OLF in our state?

In the state of Illinois, legislation is being considered regarding military contractors. It sets three important limitations on their function and use:

1. No state funds may be used to contract with or purchase services from private military contractors for training of law enforcement or security Guards.
2. No military weapons or explosives may be used by private military contractors in Illinois except on secured U.S. military bases or regulated facilities.
3. No personnel trained by private military contractors may be used to patrol, guard, control, contain or arrest any Illinois resident.

Would you support and sign this kind of legislation if it were introduced and passed in the North Carolina General Assembly?

Issues of importance to LGBT North Carolinians
Submitted by Pam Spaulding on Mon, 03/31/2008 - 7:32pm.

To both candidates:

* Do you support a state amendment barring gay and lesbian couples from civil marriage or any other legal arrangements that approximate rights granted to opposite-sex couples in a civil marriage?

* Do you support passage of anti-discrimination measures that would protect state workers from being fired on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity?

* Do you believe that health and pension benefits should be extended to same-sex partners of state workers?

Thank you for your consideration.

--
Pam Spaulding
Durham, NC USA

Pam's House Blend

Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Pointing at Naked Emperors

Some Wilson County Schools are grading children on their Physical Abilities, they receive a letter grade based on the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge. The problem is that each child is built different, and ex. of the test, if you do not run a mile in 10 minutes you will not receive an A, and it goes down depending on the time. The Local Boards do not see this as discrimination, the State does not see it as discrimination, but Federal does. Do you see this as a problem to our children and what would you say to fix this?

I am concerned about health insurance and the rising costs. It seems that the deductibles continue to rise and everytime the state workers get a raise, the insurance goes up. I would like for the cost of insurance to not go up every year, would it be beneficial to the economy for the insurance to increase bi-anually?
I would like to see state workers receive an adequate raise. After working for many years, it is evident that most workers never meet the maximum wage for their salaries. I also notice that wages have a beginning salary, but are not listed with an ending salary. I hope that there would be some kind of timeline set in place for state workers to reach their maximum salary.
Thanks for your time.

As of April 2006, over 39,000 Guardsmen were serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom (over 150,000 to date), 14,000 in Operation Enduring Freedom (over 50,000 to date), and 652 in Operation Noble Eagle. Since 9-11, over 250,000 Soldiers have been mobilized under USC Title 10 authority (federal orders) and over 350,000 under Title 10 or Title 32 (federal and state orders).
I am currently and have been a member of the North Carolina Army National Guard since 1996. I have personally deployed to Iraq once. I was stationed in Iraq for over 12 months and was on active duty for almost 15 months. With an ongoing battle in Iraq what is going to be your stance about deploying YOUR National Guard soldiers to Iraq? I am aware of the paragraph in my oath "to defend against all enemies both foreign and domestic." However, what concerns do you have regarding the depletion of our resources and its effect on our ability to respond in the event of a natural disaster such as another Hurricane Floyd?

I am a high school student in North Carolina. NC currently has a state policy that schools must use a seven point grading scale. This means that a 92 is a B, 84 a C, and 76 a D. Most other state have a 10 point grading scale. Under this system each of those grades would a letter higher. This means North Carolina students are not as competitive nation wide as students from other state. Would you change this policy?