Quilljunky's blog

With my birthday looming ahead at the end of this week, I've found myself looking back over my youth and the adventures I've both willingly and not-so-willingly participated in over the years. I've also been spending quite a bit of time analyzing my personality. Turns out, I'm a fighter. I stand up for what I feel needs changing.

In early high school, I stood up against skateboarding harassment. In college, I protested war and publicly spoke against a same-sex marriage amendment. Ideally sitting by and nonchalantly watching the world pass has not worked well for me. If you want something changed, you fight for it.

That inner fighter has led me to volunteer this winter and spring with the Cal Cunningham for U.S. Senate campaign. I want to see my state represented by an individual who will actually care about his constituents - their jobs, their education, their environment and their civil rights.

Hey BlueNC, my name is Ashley S. Miller. I joined this site recently to meet the wonderful people who make up North Carolina’s online progressive community. I’ve posted a couple of times but I wanted to take the time today to make a formal introduction.

I feel a chill running down my spine as I open yet another envelope. I know that folded within is another medical bill I won’t be able to pay. The healthcare reform bill that was signed into law this week and praised by Cal Cunningham has the potential to change my life. My story isn’t really all that different from the stories of millions of other Americans who have played battle royale with health insurance companies. But I feel like my story needs telling, if only to provide a comforting nod of solidarity to others in similar circumstances.

The smell of piping hot, Lexington-style barbecue permeated the air as excited supporters of Cal Cunningham, candidate for U.S. Senate, filed contentedly into a banquet hall at Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, NC last night for a hometown campaign kick-off event. Having been to numerous campaign events as a field organizer for various state and national campaigns, I had a very good idea of what to expect at this event but as the evening wore on I found myself getting to know a candidate that really takes the future lives of North Carolinians seriously.