Nathan Aspenson's blog

I don't like being lied to. I believe when you get right down to it unless someone is complimenting your haircut or convincing you that those sunglasses don't look ridiculous, nobody enjoys being lied to. As such, it's easy for someone to get incensed by a shameless display of dishonesty such as those recently spouted by the leaders of the grand old party in North Carolina, and such a response would not be unreasonable. In fact it's become alarming how quickly Republicans in North Carolina are willing to break the glass and pull out the tattered playbook entitled "complete fabrications" whenever they feel threatened.

As anyone who is familiar with the work of 'freedom fighters' the world over can tell you, there is little to be gleaned about anyone based on the labels they give themselves. From the 'justice and equality movement' to 'operation enduring freedom' there is simply very little correlation between these self-supplied titles and the goings-on that happen where the rubber meets the road. The same can be said of Kinston, NC's recent lawsuit challenging article five of the voting rights act. The story, found here from Democracy NC's link of the day, is another example of the disparity between title and implications. The referendum that the lawsuit seeks to uphold eliminated 'partisan' elections in Kinston in favor of 'non-partisan elections.

There are times when I feel a great deal of pride in my humble hometown of Durham, North Carolina. In the past, that pride has stemmed from the city's institutions, from the wide availability of fantastic Mexican food to our leading recycled object-based amusement centers, and even our renowned hospitals and medical research. Today I once again feel a surge of pride, this time because the city of Medicine is now in the vanguard of campaign finance reform. Yesterday, the Durham city council passed a resolution calling for the North Carolina legislature and Governor's office to pass legislation allowing larger towns like Durham to institute voter-owned election programs.

Last week I watched the president sign into law the historic health care bill, and after shedding a tear for the pundits and talking heads for the loss of their beloved controversy, I paused to consider the sweltering political climate created by the vitriolic debate leading up to the signing of this bill. Politicians from the right side of the aisle have made it clear that they are very upset with the left's handling of health care reform, and with all of their grandstanding it's easy to forget that for nearly eight months they brazenly rejected any and all efforts by the current administration to bring them into the reform process. Listening to conservative objections to the health care bill, I can scarcely recognize the Republican party that I remember from my youth.