Fear and loathing in Laurinburg:

A lawyer for landowners who were denied a permit last week by the Robeson County Board of Commissioners says the unfounded worries are putting in jeopardy a lucrative industry. In a separate case, the Laurinburg Planning Board on March 12 denied the same company, Strata Solar of Chapel Hill, a permit for panels off U.S. 501. To Rowland Mayor Elizabeth Hunt, the concerns aren't unfounded. "It's not an issue of trust. It's not technology lagging behind. It's the unknown," Hunt told Robeson County commissioners during the April 1 hearing on the Strata farm. She said she read that materials in the panels contained toxins that could leak into groundwater or sewer systems.

This article is somewhat dated, and Robeson County has since reversed its decision. But it's apparent there is some sort of stealth propaganda campaign going on, because the same unfounded fears are showing up in different places. Film at eleven.

According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, DAG McCrory's alma mater (Catawba College) received ZERO stars in terms of quality of teacher preparation. With that kind of foundation, it's no wonder Mr. McCrory has no idea about the value of excellence in teaching and public education.

(Follow the link and scroll down a bit to the heading: CONSUMER ALERT!)

They don't want to know, and they don't want you to know, either:

RT @kate_sheppard: Horrific abuse. Rampant contamination. And the crime is...exposing it? Welcome to #AgGag laws: http://t.co/q16RObAyyf

— Pricey Harrison (@priceyharrison) June 18, 2013

Top story: Tillis begins "invisible" primary. Given his penchant for avoiding conversations with the people he pretends to represent, invisible is pretty much the perfect description.

Lots more below the fold.

Here's an iconic photo found on Facebook, taken by Carter Hubbard.
Post your own thoughts and photos about Moral Monday on this open thread.

A particular finding by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism was both striking and at the same time not surprising to me: the accelerated transforming of the cable news channels into talk cable.
For a democracy, especially one which holds itself out to the world as the preeminent example for it’s openness and forward thinking. But the U.S. has been plagued by a toxic, highly partisan and deeply polarized political climate. And politics is the life blood on cable.

from PPP Poll at The Voter Update:

The Republican-controlled legislature also suffers in the court of public opinion, with 56 percent of voters disapproving of the job being done by state lawmakers. Democratic voters are especially displeased with the General Assembly, with just 10 percent giving that body a positive rating, while 20 percent of independents approve of the legislature. Slightly more Republican voters – 40 percent – disapprove of the legislature than the 36 percent who approve

.

Some economic activities don't pass the smell test:

"The bill is an engraved invitation for mega-dumps, mega-landfills to come into North Carolina," said Molly Diggins, the Sierra Club's state director, adding that "instead of focusing on how to have a balance among competing interests, it puts landfills first before people or natural resources."

Disposing of the trash generated by the most prosperous nation in the world is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and states with weakened environmental regulations are the favorite target of Big Trash:

Apparently her God is elusive and very selective:

Where was your enthusiasm for pastoral participation when pastors from across the state showed up for pro-life day at the General Assembly, came out to speak in favor of pro-family education reforms or rallied across the state to pass the Marriage Amendment? There may be clergy present at these “Immoral Monday” gatherings, but that hardly means they are condoned by God, and it is completely inappropriate for the state’s largest paper to intimate otherwise.

If you really were pro-life and pro-family, you would be disgusted with the Legislature for cutting assistance to struggling families. The fact that you not only condone that but applaud it means you're nothing more than a bigoted hypocrite, who has created God in her own image. You better hope your idea of God doesn't exist, or you're in deep kimchee.

An excellent summary of the full catastrophe that passes for government in North Carolina. Headlines include:

• GOP ABANDONS PLEDGE FOR TAX REFORM
• LOBBYING FIRM ACTED AS TILLIS, McCRORY FUNDRAISING CONDUIT
• MORE ON HOW GOP FUNDRAISING SPEED DATING
• SWEEPSTAKES GAVE MORE THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN
• POWERFUL LAWMAKERS, OFFICIALS GET RURAL CENTER CASH BOOST
• LEADER'S SALARY IN QUESTION
• HARSH WORDS
• CENTER-FUNDED SHELBY PROJECT DEAD
• JUST HOW MUCH CHANGE IS THE GOP MAKING
• TRASH POLITICS
• WILL TAX BREAK LEAD TO TAX HIKE?
• TIM TYSON ON MORAL MONDAYS

Read more here: http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/morning_memo_gop_fundrai...