NC GOP

Two bills dealing with Rape are no-brainers

Submitted by scharrison on

And if they are buried in committee we won't just acquiesce:

North Carolina is the only state in the country where continuing a sex act after being told to stop is not a crime due to a decades-old legal precedent. And while the law says sex with an incapacitated person is rape, a court precedent more than a decade old says the law doesn’t apply if the victim caused his or her own incapacitation through drinking or drug use.

The two bills that would change the pair of legal precedents have so far not had a formal committee hearing, but that could change after the legislature’s spring break.

Probably not the time or place to have this particular discussion, but we're going to have it anyway: Sexual intercourse is (of course) the most intimate stage of a relationship, but it's also extremely hormonal in nature. People react differently under that physiological change, and not always for the better. This provides new information to each of the individuals taking part, and what seemed like a great idea fifteen minutes ago can become repulsive fairly quickly. A good analogy might be: You want to cross the road, and the only car you see is a half-mile away. But as you step out, you realize that car is going faster than you thought, so you decide to wait. Should you be forced to cross anyway, because you initially thought it was safe? Of course not, because you have the freedom to change your mind. And so should women who have previously given consent for sex. And as for the drug and/or alcohol situation:

Tuesday Twitter roundup

Submitted by scharrison on

The never-ending battle continues:

In case you haven't been paying attention, women are slowly (but surely) losing this war. If you're a state (or Federal) candidate and women's reproductive freedom is not in your top five platform issues, you need to do some re-arranging. Pronto.

Suburban (white) sheriffs welcome ICE with open arms

Submitted by scharrison on

Protecting the upper-middle-class snowflakes:

Van Shaw, a Republican and career investigator elected last fall, keeps receiving thousands of dollars from Immigration and Customs Enforcement for his office to hold immigrant detainees in the Cabarrus County jail. And last year, he sent 83 inmates to ICE through 287(g), a long-held partnership that enables sheriff’s deputies to carry out immigration enforcement.

It’s a stark contrast from most of North Carolina’s biggest counties, where newly elected African-American sheriffs have loudly cut their ties with the federal agency. But Shaw is bucking the trend.

Of course he's "bucking the trend." It's Cabarrus County, which has (repeatedly) sent that embarrassingly bigoted moron Larry Pittman to the General Assembly. I was going to say I've only met a few people actually from Cabarrus County, but it might be more, because the ones I know for sure told me they lived "near Charlotte" a few times before the truth came out. I probably don't have any moral high-ground to continue Cabarrus-bashing (as fun as it might be), because I live in Alamance County. Anybody who follows immigrant issues knows why that is equally embarrassing, but being the total disclosure kind of guy that I am, here's just a taste:

Civitas deploys "Red Scare" tactics (again) over teacher rally

Submitted by scharrison on

Propagandists do what propagandists do:

“This is not a march for Democrats. This is not a march for Republicans. This is a march for our future.” But almost as soon as the new protest was announced, critics attacked the decision.

The conservative Civitas Institute has questioned holding the event on May Day, a day associated with labor union events, and for using “Marxist symbolism” by having a red fist in logos promoting the event. “They want to be disruptive,” said Civitas president Donald Bryson. “It’s not about parents or students. It’s about bringing a socialist labor union movement to North Carolina. That’s why it’s on May 1.”

What Donald Bryson fails to mention, either because he knows it will undermine his argument or (more likely) because he just isn't smart enough to understand: It was a labor movement (Solidarity) that broke the Marxist choke hold on Poland back in the early 1980's, and ushered in democratic reforms that (for the most part) still hold today. If anything, it's people like Berger and Bryson who most resemble those Communist Party leaders in Moscow and Gdańsk who saw the danger of losing their absolute power under such a movement. But Mark Jewell gets it:

Early voting begins today in 3rd District Congressional Primary

Submitted by scharrison on

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And there's enough candidates to field 3 baseball teams:

Early voting begins today in a special primary election to fill the 3rd Congressional District seat left vacant by the death of Walter Jones. The actual primary is April 30.

Twenty-six candidates — 17 Republicans, six Democrats, two Libertarians and one member of the Constitution Party — filed to run for the 3rd Congressional District seat. Because only one Constitution Party candidate filed, there is no primary for that party.

The General Election could get very interesting. With a Libertarian and a Constitution...arian? on the ballot, the Republican is going to have to do a complicated ideological dance to keep from losing votes. Or maybe not. But first said Republican will have to survive this Primary, and the (very likely) 2nd Primary that will follow:

Tuesday Twitter roundup

Submitted by scharrison on

What Dan said:

Even better headline: "Andrew Dunn at Longleaf Politics has shed whatever cloak he was wearing on neutrality, and has gone full-on right-wing nutter."

Mark Johnson's "ClassWallet" program is a costly boondoggle

Submitted by scharrison on

Somebody should design an app to detect idiots:

Several influential Republican lawmakers and GOP State Superintendent Mark Johnson announced Wednesday the creation of the N.C. Teacher Classroom Supply Program that would be funded by new legislation requiring school districts to transfer $400 to each teacher. If passed, educators would use the ClassWallet app to spend the money and to submit reimbursements for supplies they purchase.

“Giving teachers the maximum control over classroom supply funds is the ultimate local control,” Johnson said at a news conference. “Teachers can be nimble and they can use these funds to buy what they need, when they need it.”

This is even worse than we initially thought. If that money was given directly to teachers, they could pool their resources and make larger (bulk) purchases, and/or contribute to local businesses. But being forced to use an app restricts their choices, and allows for the (huge) inflation of prices. Don't just take my word for it, listen to the teacher:

Teaching supplies "shell game" criticized by education leaders

Submitted by scharrison on

Robbing from Peter to pay Paul could make matters worse:

After Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson backed a bill Wednesday that would shift money from school districts to give teachers $400 each for classroom supply needs, several State Board of Education members expressed issues Thursday with the bill’s potential consequences for districts.

Both teacher advisors on the board, 2017 Teacher of the Year Lisa Godwin and 2018 Teacher of the Year Freebird McKinney, were vocal Wednesday about their opposition to Senate Bill 580, saying the reallocation of the money would take away resources districts need to buy supplies and equipment in bulk. Thursday, board member Jill Camnitz said she agrees with the advisors’ sentiments.

Not only is Mark Johnson not qualified to be NC's SuperNintendo, he apparently has a damn short memory. Just last Summer, he took money that was supposed to be disbursed to individual teachers and bought a bunch of IPads with it:

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