Stephen Colbert declared himself a North Carolina native this week during a segment on "The Colbert Report" in which he discussed his sister, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, losing a congressional election in his home state of South Carolina to former disgraced South Carolina governor Mark Sanford.

The angry Colbert said he felt betrayed by his home state and would turn his back on it. "From now on," he said. "And I never thought I'd say this, I am from North Carolina. No, I have to -- I have to! I'm a Tar Heel now! Whatever the f*#$ that means."

Colbert then went on to profess his love for the state bird, the cardinal (after consulting an Almanac to get the bird's name right). "That's a stupid bird," he said. "But it's mine now."

A strong majority of North Carolina voters support the state’s public campaign financing program for judicial candidates, according to a new poll commissioned by the nonpartisan N.C. Center for Voter Education.

The survey finds that 68 percent of state voters favor the judicial public financing program, with just 23 percent opposed. Voters across the political spectrum support judicial public financing, including 67 percent of Republicans, 69 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of unaffiliated voters.

RALEIGH, NC—

As North Carolinians join today to reflect on the hard work and dedication put forth by our teachers, Republicans in Raleigh are celebrating National Teacher Day with their much-anticipated crusade to privatize public education in North Carolina. Their Trojan Horse, S.B. 337, will come to the floor today as Phil Berger and Senate Republicans seek to upend accountability and educator standards for North Carolina’s charter schools.

The legislation, as stands, would simultaneously take funding and facility-space from public schools, end requirements to offer busing, or free or reduced-price lunch, which would disenfranchise children from low-income families. S.B. 337 also eliminates key requirements for Charter school teachers to have college degrees or teaching certificates and eliminate requirements for educators to have background checks...

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From Press Release from the NC Democratic Party

Call for mass rally and protests in Raleigh (5/7)

Forward together, not one step back!

From the NC AFL-CIO today via email

In an email to supporters on Friday, the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, a partner in the H K on J coalition, called for a "Mass Rally and Protest Outside NC General Assembly" on Tuesday, May 7th.

The escalation of peaceful protests on Tuesday comes as advocates for workers, voters, civil rights, students, and the environment grow increasingly frustrated at the arrogant and extreme actions taken by our state legislature during the first three months of its 2013 session and are turning to civil disobedience.

On Monday, police arrested 17 activists - including clergy, students and academics, and a woman in a wheelchair - for protesting the Republican-led legislative agenda outside the state senate chamber doors.