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!)

(Cross-posted at the new Appalachian Voices blog)

Don't always agree with Governor Easley. Not always impressed with him. But he has been kicking ass on the environment, first with his opposition to the sale of the National Forests. Now this.

There is an offshore drilling moratorium for the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts that isn't set to expire until 2012. However, there are some special interests in Virginia that want to see that overturned much sooner. Like...now.

Warning: this post has absolutely nothing to do with North Carolina Politics. But it is about North Carolina. And the Devil.

This was news to me: in the woods near Siler City, there is a circle on the ground, more than ten meters across, where nothing will grow. For sure, nothing has grown there for a century. According to folklore, the streak is more like 400 years long. There are strange noises at night, and items left in the circle overnight are gone by morning.

One explanation is that a great Indian Chief, Croatan, is buried there. Another explanation is that Druids visited the spot a thousand years ago and did something... druidy... there. Of course, UFOs are a possibility. But the most widely accepted explanation is that the Devil, out pacing and thinking at night, wears the spot down and makes it sterile. Yeah, that makes the most sense. Devil's Tramping Ground links are below the fold, along with a question for you.

I have no extra knowledge of this case, but WRAL has a great story on the possible stopping of the execution of Willie Brown. The gist of which is:

A federal judge said he will stop an execution scheduled for later this month unless state officials tell him by Wednesday how they will ensure the inmate is unconscious as he is being put to death.

I arrived at the Siler City Immigration protest at about 4:15 pm yesterday afternoon. There was a line of people walking from the highway starting about 1.5 miles away. People had signs and nearly everyone had an American flag. There were smiles on everyone's faces as we passed work crews, old couples, young people with their friends, and entire families, including babies in strollers. Nearly everyone was wearing white t-shirt. As we got closer to the protest site we could hear chanting in spanish, a nation divided can never be united. As we drove by the protest site there was line of policemen from siler city, chatham county, and surrounding cities lining the sidewalk. Also people were chanting Yes we can! in spanish. We pulled into press parking (some newspaper workers caught a ride with me( their article is here) and I joined the protest as the journalists went off to inverview and take pictures.

I ran across this little article on the N&O's website with the headline: "Who Says that Alternative Energy and North Carolina Don't Mix?". Seeing the headline, I was excited to learn about the great things that North Carolina is doing with alternative energy (I was also a little surprised because I had thought that were behind the curve in alternative energy). However, once I began reading the article, I realized this was a case of a completely inaccurate title.

The article was filled with information on how the state's programs did not stack up. First off was the only good news, the state offers lots of tax credits for alternative energy use. But then the reality of North Carolina's situation was exposed.

click here It's a poll in the Hendersonville Times-News, running 50/40 Taylor at this time.

From WautagaWatch:

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx will be interviewed live on Appalachian State University's campus radio station WASU 90.5 FM on Wednesday, April 12, from 7:30-8 p.m. She's supposed to answer questions from the audience during the program. Call in to (828) 264-4905.

I'll just add: Yes, they webcast.

Nothing gets white old rich men like Art Pope more activated than the possibility that they can't continue to buy elections. And no group in North Carolina is working harder to put him out of business than Democracy North Carolina. Their director of development, Molly Beacham, visited our political salon this weekend and made a compelling case for change. And the good news is this: you can help make the change happen. It's as easy as checking a box on your tax return.

Now you have a chance to support fair elections and fair courts -- and it won't cost you anything. Please mark "Yes" on the new check-off box on the N.C. income-tax form, called the Public Campaign Financing Fund. The Fund supports a public financing option for candidates for N.C. Court of Appeals and N.C. Supreme Court, and it pays for a Voter Guide for those elections.

Now you can do something besides bitch about the destructive influence of guys like the Puppetmaster on North Carolina elections. So go ahead. Take the first step for Voter-Owned Elections.