Frick and frack

Gary is taking a break from blogging. Here’s one from a Tapster.   The Senate’s headlong rush this week to jumpstart hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina proves they’ve learned absolutely nothing from the Dan River coal ash spill. Senate Republicans say they want to create jobs and stimulate home-grown energy, and the sooner the better…

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Frick and Frack

Gary is taking a break from blogging. Here is one from a Tapster.   The Senate’s headlong rush this week to jumpstart hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina proves they’ve learned absolutely nothing from the Dan River coal ash spill. Senate Republicans say they want to create jobs and stimulate home-grown energy, and the sooner the…

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What Comeback?

Gary is taking a break from blogging. In his absence, he asked Thomas Mills to fill in. Thomas blogs at www.politicsnc.com where this article is cross-posted. Republicans in Raleigh have a problem with their storyline. They keep insisting that North Carolina is on a “Carolina comeback” but nobody’s feeling the benefits–except the rich. They cite…

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Capitol Police: Out to lunch?

Gary is taking a break from blogging. Here is a post from a guest Tapster:   We recently complained that the State Capitol Police wasted taxpayer money to install a radar gun in one of its cruisers. It seemed absurd that the Capitol Police need this capability when there are plenty of other police organizations…

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Tillis and Sting

Gary is taking a break from blogging. Here is a blog from a Tapster: We wonder if Speaker and Candidate Tillis thinks his opponent in the fall is the singer Sting: “Every step you take, every move you make, I’ll be watching you.” How can the speaker possibly govern effectively while campaigning for US Senate…

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Restless Natives

Gary is taking a break from blogging. Our guest blogger filling in for Gary is a Tapster. The recent dustup about so-called ‘outside’ agitators spear-heading the Moral Monday protests has spotlighted a significant trend in North Carolina: the state actually is being run by outsiders. Each of the last two Gov’s were born in other states, and…

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Surprise, Surprise

  Gary is taking a break from blogging. Our guest blog today is from a Tapster. Republicans won control of the NC General Assembly with a promise to create jobs and improve the state’s economy.   So, where is the proposed legislation to do that?   Of the 100 or so bills introduced in the…

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Sisters: Defend Yourselves

  Gary is taking a break from blogging. Our guest blogger is Joyce Fitzpatrick.   The war on women continues.   Cokie Roberts spoke Tuesday evening at the Kenan- Flagler School at UNC Chapel Hill about how inhospitable the Romney/Ryan ticket had been to women and immigrants. They responded in huge numbers to give President Obama…

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A Simple Prayer

  Gary is taking a break from blogging. Here’s one from another Tapster.   When the legislature makes its biennial return to town, our usual tendency is to ridicule the members’ narrow mindedness, laugh at their lack of political sophistication and hold our collective breath that they won’t destroy the state.   The gavel drops…

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Wanted: Perfect Party Chair

  Our guest TAPster is Mark Ezzell, long time political observer and founder of Englewood Planning Group, a Raleigh-based public affairs firm:   I love a good Barack Obama speech as much as the next Democrat, but I always cringed when he used the banal sounding line “we are the ones we’ve been looking for’.…

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