I just wanted to congratulate and share about the great work a coalition of ECU students did in getting an anti-voter suppression resolution passed by the Greenville City Council last night. The resolution opposed SB 666, cuts to early voting, and barriers to voting in general. Here's a little bit of the work that led up to it.

On campus tabling & rally:

In keeping with the fine tradition of the McCrory administration, Aldona Wos looks citizens in the eye and lies through her teeth. Thank goodness North Carolina Health News was on the scene.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Aldona Wos told an audience in Reidsville today that the decision not to expand the state’s Medicaid program came from state Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. Her comments came during a community forum held at Annie Penn Hospital during a question-and-answer period with the audience of 70 to 80 hospital personnel, community members and medical professionals.

To which the Department of Insurance had this to say:

Hey y'all,

I just wanted to drop by and update you on the goings-on of the Young Democrats of North Carolina.

Follow me below the fold ...

And all of the people it helps are rich.

The majority of taxpayers likely would see a tax increase after the plan is fully implemented, according to early long-term projections from legislative fiscal researchers who analyzed the potential legislation – not a tax break as Senate Republican leaders suggested when announcing the plan this week.

Stephen Colbert declared himself a North Carolina native this week during a segment on "The Colbert Report" in which he discussed his sister, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, losing a congressional election in his home state of South Carolina to former disgraced South Carolina governor Mark Sanford.

The angry Colbert said he felt betrayed by his home state and would turn his back on it. "From now on," he said. "And I never thought I'd say this, I am from North Carolina. No, I have to -- I have to! I'm a Tar Heel now! Whatever the f*#$ that means."

Colbert then went on to profess his love for the state bird, the cardinal (after consulting an Almanac to get the bird's name right). "That's a stupid bird," he said. "But it's mine now."

From the Fayetteville Observer
By Gary D. Robertson
The Associated Press

RALEIGH - Senate Republicans unveiled details about their long-awaited tax overhaul proposal Tuesday, saying that lower income tax rates and expanding the scope of the sales tax is fair to all, will boost the state's economy and cut taxes for most people. But critics say lower-income people will pay more overall.

The three-year plan would reduce individual and corporate income tax rates as well as cut the combined state and local sales tax that consumers in most counties pay from 6.75 percent to 6.5 percent. The plan would eliminate the estate tax.

But the overhaul would make North Carolina's sales tax base one of the broadest in the country by eliminating exemptions and expanding it to apply to most services
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From Democracy NC

Hello everyone.

What a week this has been. With the crazy train running off the tracks in Raleigh, it's tempting to pack up and run for cover.

So thank goodness it's Friday, the perfect day to officially launch a new kind of campaign to shape a new kind of politics in North Carolina. I am running for governor.

My friends will tell you I am not a professional politician. I've never wanted to be one, and I don't really want to be governor. But I can’t stand by and watch our state dragged down by special interests, corporate welfare, and short-sighted thinking.

After a century of progress under moderate bi-partisan leadership, Republican extremists are turning North Carolina into a state of madness. They’re putting our schools and environment at risk, undermining what has made us a leader in attracting business for decades. And for what? So the ultra-rich can buy more luxury cars?

North Carolina voters trusted Republicans to lead our state forward. That was a mistake. We must do better, and that means working together. For starters, please give me whatever feedback, advice, criticism or complaints you're willing to share in public. No back rooms. No secret meetings. No special interests.

For better or for worse, this is going to be the most transparent campaign North Carolina has ever seen.

Representative Michael Speciale is in favor of kicking dogs and euthanizing them with an axe. At least that's what was posted on his Facebook page until he took the remarks down last night.

Send the clown a note and congratulate him on winning BlueNC's "Dumbbell of the Day" award. Reach him here: Michael.Speciale@ncleg.net.

North Carolina's illegitimate government continues to make a mockery of itself, with Deputy Assistant Governor McCrory tagging along like a house-trained puppy.