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Bed and breakfast owners have to be careful about getting involved in politics. They never know if their guests are going to turn out to be right-wing reactionaries or flaming liberals or something in between.

So imagine my surprise when our hosts in Elizabeth City this week were enthusiastic Democrats, eager to connect with like-minded people. All it took to tap their passion was one simple question: "What do you think about what's going on in Raleigh these days?"

I won't go into all the details they shared, except to say that legislative interference by Republicans into local government activities was at the top of their list of concerns. Others we talked with were equally upset about the environmental threats coming out of the General Assembly, especially as they related to water quality and climate change. After all, the very existence of towns like Elizabeth City depend on conservation and environmental stewardship as their saving grace.

Robbing the poor to give to the rich:

The current proposals at the General Assembly would reduce or eliminate the personal income tax (a huge tax cut for the wealthy) and would make up some of the lost revenue by increasing the sales tax. The net result—the wealthy would pay much less in taxes while middle- and low-income families would pay more. That’s the Great Tax Shift. Lawmakers want to shift the tax load from wealthy North Carolinians onto working families.

The average people of this state have been betrayed. Betrayed by those who promised tax cuts for all, but only ever intended for those at the top to benefit. One need only take a closer look at AFP's chosen cheerleader to see the truth of that:

A TED Talk worth your while.

I've seen a lot of clips of Mr. Barber in recent weeks,
but this one tells the whole story in a way that truly lifts my hopes.

Poor Thom Tillis. He wants to run for US Senate,
yet he doesn't even have the moral strength
to talk to citizens in the People's House.

Top story: Blind leading the blind:

I don't have a lot to add to this great Q-Notes article, other than to ask, if elected, would Rep. Brandon be the first openly gay Congress member in the south?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — State Rep. Marcus Brandon (D-Guilford) has formally announced his decision to run for North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District. Brandon filed paperwork to form his campaign committee on May 1. The committee’s formation was made public this week.

The seat has been held by Rep. Mel Watt since 1993. On May 1, Watt was nominated by President Barack Obama to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

More than 200 people gathered May 13 to support the 49 people arrested for peaceably protesting at the N.C General Assembly building in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Garrison Keillor opens his monologues with "It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon." But North Carolina is not a quiet town on the prairie, and we are no longer being quiet.

This week in North Carolina started with 49 arrests at the N.C. General Assembly -- arrests of people peaceably assembled and singing songs of peace and unity to protest the ALEC-ification of our state. This brings the total number of civil-disobedience arrests so far to 96, including 17 arrests April 29, 30 arrests on May 6, and 49 arrests on May 13.

Why? Good question.

Activists eagerly listening to #NCGA #taxreform discussion in Greensboro. #ncpol #consnc #BackInTheGameNC twitter.com/AFPNC/status/3…

— AFP-NC (@AFPNC) May 16, 2013