James's blog

Use this thread to keep the conversation going over this welcome long weekend. For those in need of some patriotic festivities, please join us on Saturday from 4 to 7 in Chapel Hill. We'll have barbecue, tea and lemonade, and are asking folks to bring a side dish or dessert. The weather promises to be splendid, and I'm sure turnout will be great. Last year about 130 people attended, and Jane and I always say ... the more the merrier! Our address is 451 Lakeshore Lane.

In the meantime, there will be plenty to talk about. For instance, we might want to talk about why Obama's policies in Afghanistan are almost guaranteed not to work.

As some of you may know, I've been a frequent visitor and fan of the Under the Dome blog at the N&O since its inception. Indeed, I doubt there is another person who has done more to promote their site with links and commentary than I have. In recent months, though, the growth of right-wing vitriol there has been both alarming and off-putting. The same thing has been happening at Talking About Politics and WRAL News.

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How many museums does it take to make a bus full of paleontologists laugh?
One.

Please sign this petition so we can deliver a ton of names to Senator Hagan's office before time runs out.Read more

If you take only one political action this month, take this action. Stand with breast cancer survivors of North Carolina.

Thanks to Jane Hamsher at FireDogLake for leading the charge.

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In response to a question on antics of Amazon, Mark Binker captured this marvelous quote from Joe Hackney.

Amazon has a history of acting that way. I think they did that in New York and then they backed off and reversed themselves so I’m not sure we should take that too seriously. I have my own way of dealing with it, which is I just won’t deal with Amazon.

Check out Binkers's post and don't forget to listen to the audio, which includes a discussion of taxes in general. And while you're at it, please join me in boycotting Amazon.

In a scene near the end of The Dark Knight, The Joker has planted bombs on two ferries crossing the river out of Gotham. True to form, the evil-doer has set up a moral dilemma for mere mortals. Passengers on each ferry have the ability to blow up the other boat to save themselves. If neither group acts, The Joker will destroy both ferries at the strike of midnight.

In our own real world, such moral dilemmas face us every day. Indeed, our nation has planted figurative bombs all over the world through our gluttonous consumption of fossil fuels. Today we have the ability to sink whole islands in the South Pacific and melt polar ice caps ... or not.

In his sad vote last week to protect what he believes are the parochial economic interests of the 8th district, Congressman Larry Kissell chose to blow up the other ferry.

Will Senator Kay Hagan have her fingers on the detonator, too?Read more

At a time when budgets are being cut to the bone and beyond, tone-deaf leaders in the NC Senate are sticking to their guns on the Great Tuition Giveaway for out of state athletes. Pricey Harrison explained the situation.

"We're proposing to lay off thousands of teachers, we're cutting vital programs to the neediest," said Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, a longtime exemption critic. "It's hard to rationalize spending (millions) to subsidize booster clubs so that they can bring in out-of-state athletes and academic scholarship programs."Read more

I'm no big fan of Democrats these days, but the Governor of North Carolina is doing a pretty good job. Even though Rob Christensen might like to convince you otherwise.Read more