scharrison's blog

Tuesday Twitter roundup

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As I commented elsewhere, this should be a no-brainer. The UNC BOG coughed up $2.5 million to a handful of Confederate nutters to "settle" a lawsuit that had not even been filed yet. Making this right won't cost the Trustees a dime.

Judge rips Trump for continuing election disinformation

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The NC GOP needs to pay close attention to this:

A U.S. judge said there is a risk that Donald Trump's supporters could still carry out attacks similar to the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, noting the former president's "near-daily fulminations" about his election loss have not subsided.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson made the remark in a written decision on Wednesday explaining why she would continue to jail Cleveland Meredith Jr. while he awaits trial on charges that he texted about "putting a bullet" in U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's head.

Recently the NC Republican Party announced that Trump's speech(es) at their 2021 Convention would be open to the public and media outlets, and you can bet he will spew more of this "election was stolen!" garbage once that mic is turned on. That convention begins 3 days from now, turning Greenville into a circus town. More from the judge:

The "dead or alive" mentality of NC law enforcement

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The numbers tell the tale clearly:

Slightly more than half of these 249 fatalities listed an initial cause associated with law enforcement’s use of force. A dozen originated from traffic stops and 16 involved a mental health situation or “welfare check.” Twenty-seven people were killed in situations stemming from a nonviolent crime, including drug offenses and warrant service.

For the deaths involving firearms, the majority of victims were not fleeing at the time of the shooting, data originally tallied by the Washington Post shows.

Bolding mine, because even if they were fleeing, that's not a Capital offense. Here is just one of these unnecessary homicides by hyped-up deputies:

We need more balance in appointments to UNC BOG

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HB730 would have made that happen:

Four candidates shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Four candidates shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. One candidate shall be appointed upon recommendation of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. One candidate shall be appointed upon recommendation of the Minority Leader of the Senate. Two members shall be appointed by the Governor.

That would still leave Berger & Moore appointing 2/3 of the UNC Board of Governors (8) vs the Democrats 1/3 (4). But this bill was immediately buried in committee and did not survive the Crossover. Because in the minds of Republicans, the only thing more important than power is absolute power. This bill would also have slightly modified appointments to (each) Board of Trustees:

Coal Ash Wednesday: Duke Energy rate increase begins June 1st

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It could have been much worse, but it's still not necessary:

Duke Energy Progress electric rates will increase by an average of 4.7% across all customer groups, effective June 1. The annualized bill for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month will increase to $119.83 from the current $113.53 over the next two years.

The specific increase for individual customer groups will vary, depending on the rate they pay. The average rate increase will be 5.3% for residential customers, 4.7% for commercial customers and 3.6% for industrial customers.

Duke Energy pays out about 75% of its earnings in stockholder dividends, and those dividends have grown by almost 10% in the last 3 years. In actual dollars paid to investors, it's now roughly $2.8 Billion, per year. Which makes this almost laughable:

Tuesday Twitter roundup

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And the fact they "took no vote" does not lessen their culpability. It had the effect of a "No" vote, and one they could not justify.

Vaccine mandates for colleges follow political fault lines

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It's red state vs. blue state once again:

As of this weekend, only 34 — roughly 8 percent — are in states that voted for Donald J. Trump, according to a tracker created by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Nine of those were added on Friday, when Indiana University and its satellite campuses became rare public universities in a Republican-controlled state to mandate vaccines.

With many colleges facing falling enrollments and financial pressure, the decision whether to require vaccinations can have huge consequences. Particularly in Republican-controlled states, college presidents are weighing a delicate equation — part safety, part politics, part peer pressure and part economic self-interest.

Only one of those parts should really matter: Safety. Especially considering the clusters we saw on UNC's flagship campus this previous school year, requiring a vaccine is a no-brainer. With the state's premier private school (Duke University) requiring students be vaccinated, the situation with UNC System schools becomes even more absurd. Come on, UNC.

UNC BOG Chairman lied about having college degree

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At least he didn't claim to be a brain surgeon:

Ramsey, a Beaufort businessman whose company sells custom yachts and sport fishing boats, earned a diploma through a one-year Marine Diesel Mechanics program from Carteret Community College in 1981. But until last month, Ramsey’s UNC System biography page said he graduated from the college with a degree in Marine Propulsion, which suggests he had a two-year Associate’s degree.

The UNC biography was changed as board members who have butted heads with Ramsey threatened to make it an issue in the upcoming election. The change was made by UNC System staff according Associate Vice President for Media Relations Josh Ellis. Ramsey was not involved in the change, Ellis said.

I don't consider it a "mitigating factor" that staff made the correction instead of Ramsey. It shouldn't have needed the correction in the first place. If you look at my Facebook bio it says I "attended" Campbell University. I didn't graduate, and I would never even contemplate claiming I did, much less in a high-profile biography like Ramsey's. And as usual, Marty Kotis totally misses the point:

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