Sunday News: From the Editorial pages

Submitted by BlueNC on

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VOTER ENTHUSIASM IN KEY GROUPS CRITICAL TO ELECTION OUTCOME: “Young voters (in North Carolina) are not as much in the numbers as they could be. There’s potential for growth there,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. In those young voters is “potential for an upset,” he said. Younger voters, those with the most at stake in this election when it comes to issues of personal health like abortion, jobs and the economy and education, have not appeared to be as energized to vote as other groups, according to the Marist College poll of North Carolina that came out last week. For candidates in close elections -- like Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican Ted Budd who are running for the U.S. Senate -- that kind of engagement matters. Voters 44 and younger favor Beasley by a 7-point spread. But if they don’t become more motivated to head to the polls, that margin may not mean as much. “When you look at younger voters, Democrats carry Gen-Z and Millennials by 12 points – it’s their best group,” Miringoff said. “But it’s also a group that, although 40% of the adult population, it’s 38% of the registered voters and it falls off to 31% among those who are definitely going to vote.” As the close campaigns around North Carolina reach a conclusion, motivating voters – particularly young voters – may make the margin. I actually voted on a college campus this year (Elon University), and there were no young people in sight at the polling place when I went. No young voters, no young poll workers, no young poll greeters. I hope that was not a sign, but I fear it is.
https://www.wral.com/seth-effron-voter-enthusiasm-in-key-groups-critical-to-election-outcome/20552487/

Please vote for Lucy Inman for NC Supreme Court

Submitted by scharrison on

Her opponent Richard Dietz doesn't believe in gun control:

It is not often that one has the opportunity to hear a talk by someone who has argued before the Supreme Court of the United States. Through the email newsletter of a local gun store and range, Pro Shots, I was fortunate to learn of such an opportunity here in my home town on May 1st. Richard Dietz, a local attorney, spoke at the monthly meeting of the Forsyth County Republican Party about his experience arguing on behalf of the petitioner in Abramski v. United States (No. 12-1493) in January 2014.

Bolding mine, because yes, that is Ted Budd's gun store/range. This blog was written two years before Budd was groomed by Club For Growth and squeezed through the 2016 Republican Primary for Congress with 20% of the vote. Dietz was appointed to the (NC) Court of Appeals later that year (2014) by Pat McCrory, and he's been riding that seat ever since. Here's more on the Abramski case:

Sunday News: From the Editorial pages

Submitted by BlueNC on

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BILLIONAIRES' DARK MONEY SILENCES VOTERS' VOICES: Through the first year-and-a-half of the current election cycle, 27 billionaires provided nearly half the money — $89.4 million of a total of $188.3 million — raised by the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund – the two main super PACs trying to elect Republicans to Congress. Super PACs can raise unlimited amounts from every donor. Club for Growth Action invested two and a half times more in Budd’s campaign than his own campaign did. For the ultra-wealthy, spending to elect candidates who will protect their tax status and gut regulations is a good investment: millions in donations can mean billions in tax savings and less public oversight of their actions. A MarketWatch analysis of campaign finance records through Oct. 23 shows massive outside spending on behalf of Republicans running in competitive Senate races has more than made up for Budd’s lack campaign fund raising. Budd’s raised $18.2 million less than his Democratic opponent former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cherie Beasley as of the end of September. But he has gained from $55.9 million in outside spending either backing him or attacking Beasley. There has been about $17.1 million in outside spending on behalf of Beasley or opposing Budd. Overall, Budd’s has a $20.5 million financial lead. Curbing the undue, destructive influence of billionaires on elections requires restoring effective limits on campaign spending, such as by outlawing super PACs and ending anonymity for big donors to so-called “dark money” campaign groups. Also, we are in the midst of a vicious cycle of inflation, driven by massive corporate profit-taking. Of course they can afford to spend tens of millions, they've been picking our pockets since the Pandemic started. And now they're using our own money against us. Unfortunately, the average American hasn't made that connection.
https://legacy.wral.com/nancy-maclean-frank-clemente-billionaires-dark-money-silences-voters-voices/...

Notes from the Kakistocracy: Trump EPA spoiled this Virgin island

Submitted by scharrison on

The residents of St. Croix are living with a ticking time-bomb:

The idled plant on St. Croix, formerly known as the Limetree Bay refinery, experienced a series of accidents over the course of last year that spewed noxious fumes and showered oil droplets onto nearby homes, sending some residents to emergency rooms. Now deteriorating conditions at the massive facility, which was sold in a bankruptcy auction in December, pose a major test of the Biden administration’s commitment to environmental justice.

In September, the EPA conducted an inspection of the refinery and observed “significant corrosion” of equipment including valves, pipes and pressure relief devices, the agency said in a letter sent to the owners’ lawyers Oct. 13 and made public this week.

This facility was originally constructed over 50 years ago, and has been shut down several times for various reasons. But the Trump administration's negligent approach to environmental stewardship created an opportunity to squeeze more dollars out of it:

Right-wing conspiracy theorist breaks into Pelosi home

Submitted by scharrison on

Attacking her husband Paul with a hammer:

Last year, David DePape posted links on his Facebook page to multiple videos produced by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell falsely alleging that the 2020 election was stolen. Other posts included transphobic images and linked to websites claiming Covid vaccines were deadly. “The death rates being promoted are what ever ‘THEY’ want to be promoted as the death rate,” one post read.

He also posted content about the “Great Reset”– the sprawling conspiracy theory that global elites are using coronavirus to usher in a new world order in which they gain more power and oppress the masses.

It looks like Paul will make a full recovery, but if I had any doubts about an earlier declaration today to boycott Twitter (including here on BlueNC), this attack quashed those doubts. Elon Musk has already inspired the nut-jobs to slide out from under their rocks and spew their hateful and dangerous rhetoric:

Time to call out Republicans for voting against the Right to Contraception Act

Submitted by wigginsp on

Americans for Contraception are rightfully calling out NC's entire Republican Congressional delegation that voted against Congresswoman Kathy Manning's Right to Contraception Act in their latest ad. It was a simple bill that protects the right to condoms, IUDs, the pill, patches, emergency contraception, and the ring. With a pivotal election just around the corner, it is likely that a vote will come up again early next year.

Tuesday Twitter roundup

Submitted by scharrison on

This, all day long. The roadmap has been in place for a long time, but Republicans refuse to take part. If they were just twiddling their thumbs, it would be bad enough. But they're shoveling tons of taxpayer dollars into private school vouchers, while lowballing public schools. Their legacy of bad behavior will haunt us for decades.

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