First Amendment

NC Peace activist arrested for holding an Impeach Bush Cheney sign at the NC State Fair. Freedom of speech in North Carolina isn't free - you have to buy a "permit".

Front-paged by Anglico

Last Wednesday The Southern Dem posted in Tragedy in Three Acts: The Unmasking about the similarity between single drive-by posts by three seemingly different users but all sharing the same IP address and all critical of Beverly Perdue including, one personally critical of BlueNC’s Anglico using very specific insider information.

BlueNC is an open forum with an active but very hands-off management that promotes open discussion and exchange of ideas. In extreme cases discussion is moderated but always in favor of the 1st Amendment. It is usually spammers and obvious trolls posting inflammatory content that get special attention. By themselves the “three posts” don’t rise to the level of actionable moderation but collectively and in the context of recent events they present a disturbing dilemma to BlueNC. The delay in this post is symptomatic of this dilemma as we strive to protect anonymity while dealing with the potential subversion of an open forum by a political campaign.

Currently, in North Carolina, court witnesses and jurors have two choices: they may be sworn in on the Christian Bible, or they may affirm, using no religious text. When a Greensboro woman, Syidah Mateen, decided that she would like to swear her oath on the Qur'an, trouble brewed. More after the break.

Rev. Donnie Lunsford, pastor of New Grace Baptist Church, and Thomasville City Councilman, Dwight Cornelison, want more Christian prayer at public meetings, and they’re all fired up, writes The Dispatch. More after the break.