The Rowan-Salisbury school board turned down a student's application to form a chapter of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at the school. Matt Hill has been doing a great job covering the story on his blog (original post; follow-up). I'll only add that, under the federal Equal Access Act, whether the school has created a "limited open forum" by allowing other non-curricular groups to form. If so, they pretty much have to let the GSA form—Congress said so.

I couldn't find a list of clubs and organizations on the South Rowan High website, but here's why the school board said they denied the application:

Nowhere does the lunacy of public policy shine brighter today than in the area of capital punishment. Here in North Carolina, the latest sad chapter is enough to make a grown man cry. Or maybe even fry.

At issue is the nature of cruel and unusual punishment -- and whether those on death row should have to endure the pain and knowledge of their executions as they happen. There are too many facets of the capital punishment debate for me to take on tonight, so let's just focus on the one in the news.

Asheville's Mountain Xpress jumped on the Charles Taylor for Congress bandwagon today with an excellent writeup of the parody site that's sprouted up in western North Carolina. I'm going to get crazy and republish the whole thing right here.

Chainsawing Charlie
Some political observers say U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, who represents a hefty slice of Western North Carolina, is facing quite a battle to retain his seat this year – and a wicked digital doppelgänger is doing his bit to send the seven-term Republican congressman back to the hills.

Thanks to an email from a friend, I learned that I am prominently featured in The New York Review of Books review of Crashing the Gates. No kidding! Okay, not prominent, but I'm mentioned!!!

At the center of this world, however, is Daily Kos, which because of its particular architecture, and the open spirit of its founder, has become an experiment in Web-style democracy...But anyone who joins Daily Kos—a free and painless process—is allowed to post "diaries"—really mini-essays—about particular topics at any time. As I write this, on a Monday morning in late February, there are dozens of new diaries posted within the last hour on such subjects as "The End of Medicaid Is Beginning" by chuckles1, or "Dangers Posed by IRS Secrecy" by redlami, or "Time for a Port Pivot" by AlphaLiberal.

I try not to give too much attention to libertarian types like Rick Martinez at the News and Observer. They're always full of advice about how government should operate, but the truth is, they HATE government and they suck at it as well. But today Martinez puts himself in the spotlight to declare that he's renouncing his membership in the Republican party.

Before the day is done, I'll make my way down to the Orange County Board of Elections and become an unaffiliated voter. That will bring to a close my 34 years as a Republican. Like Ronald Reagan when he left the Democratic Party, I'm not abandoning the Republican ideals of self-reliance, fiscal responsibility and limited government. It's the party has abandoned those principles and waved goodbye to me.

North Carolina's House Select Committee on Health Care has come up with some recommendations for the full House to consider when they reconvene. (In a short session like 2006, the legislature can only consider certain types of bills; one of these includes bills that come as recommendations from a committee.) What follows is dreived from reporting by the Winston-Salem Journal. I'm working on getting a copy of the recommendations themselves.

There's a a primary a'brewing in NC House district 98 (Mecklenburg County). It has been a hot topic of discussion here at BlueNC, and has been profiled as a showdown between the new guard and old guard Republicans in the South. Sounds spicy, right? But according to Joseph Coletti over at the Locker Room, the race isn't about much more than cafeteria food. Are these guys paying attention?

Today is the last day of the first fundraising period, Rory Blake (6th district candidate, Democrat) is looking to be able to show the world that he's a serious contender. One way to do that is to show that he's raised a lot of money. Another way, perhaps more important, is to be able to show that he has a lot of donors, regardless of donation size. This is where you come in.

Break out the credit card and make a contribution today, even if it's just few bucks. I'm going to.

Sabers are rattling from Washington D.C. to Tehran. Iran reports they have enriched uranium. Sy Hersh reports U.S. military strategists are drawing up plans for a nuclear first strike. Saudi Arabia is asking the Russians to intervene. Our troops are amassed in the neighboring morass of Iraq. The news media is unflappably blase about the possible use of nukes. The Republican Noise Machine is gearing up for 2006 Congressional elections. We've got a President in Iran who hates Jews and believes the world will end in the next 2 or 3 years and a President in the United States who loves Jesusy freedom at the barrel of a gun and believes that the world will end whenever he's damn good and ready.

Which is better? That Charles Taylor got caught in incriminating emails that the Associated Press "obtained" yesterday? Or that the Chippewa tribe that benefited from his ill-doings is showing him up (as well as Abramoff et al) by giving back the money!!!

But their suggestions on how to reallocate the funds are even classier than returning it (which, to be fair was to build a school, can you believe it? What they have to do to get money for a friggin' school!)