James's blog

Steve Harrison wrote about it earlier this week.

The ad in question (below) appears to be the first in a series of hard-hitting videos on McCrory's employment history and lobbying practices. As Mark Binker said in his fact-check report, "it is no worse (or better) than the ad the Republican Governor's Association aired against McCrory's main opponent, Dalton, and is likely to be joined by others this year that twist fact to fit a particular political point of view."

Probably not. Pennsylvania didn't have access to a clear record of water contamination before the state sold it soul to frackers. They didn't understand the potential for destruction, a potential that is being played out today with people moving away from toxic towns in search of clean water.

That record in Pennsylvania stands before us as a testament to human stupidity and greed. Which is apparently all the reason North Carolina Republicans need to charge forward into the abyss.

A perfect example of what businesses do when left to clean up after themselves. Nothing.

I'm not often surprised by the anti-science bias of today's Tea Party Republicans in Raleigh, but I have to admit that this news caught even my cynical self off guard.

The proposed bill would limit forecasts for future sea-level rise to what the ocean along the N.C. coast did last century. Using that standard, the state would plan for rise of about 12 inches by 2100. Determining the rate would fall to the N.C. Division of Coastal Management. Language in the bill says the rates “shall be limited to the time period following the year 1900” and that "(R)ates of sea-level rise may be extrapolated linearly to estimate future rates of rise but shall not include scenarios of accelerated rates of sea-level rise.”

You bet he does.

A must read series from North Carolina Health News.

Without a doubt, North Carolina is taking a gamble in transforming all of the state’s mental health local management entities into managed care organizations. If the effort succeeds, North Carolina stands to become a national leader in solving the problem of Medicaid financing for mental health services. If the effort fails, it could cost billions to fix it.

• To save money, improve health, NC changes Mental Health System – again
• Piedmont Behavioral Health: From idea to a statewide model
• Public money and private rights at odds in NC’s Mental Health System
• Everybody is watching
• Audit shows mental health agencies struggle