Today's action plan is simple. I am going to list four people who have supported full funding of IDEA. I will give you their contact information. All four are Democrats (surprise!) and all four are running for re-election.

Today, we will thank them for their efforts on behalf of disabled children and encourage them to continue to take a stand.

Please see contact information below the fold...

There were a couple of high profile candidates that decided not to run in NC-5 against Virginia Foxx (R), but we do have four Democrats in a primary battle to run against her. The Winston-Salem Journal highlights the race in this article. You will have to click the article to read the whole thing, but I will quote the introduction of the candidates:

The candidates are Mark Glen, an architect in Winston-Salem; Syn-di Holmes, a nurse who lives Mocksville; Roger Kirkman, a public-information officer in Winston-Salem and the 2004 primary runner-up; and Roger Sharpe, a former state senator from Harmony who once worked as the special assistant to the director of the Office of Civil Rights under the Carter administration.

Sometimes I wish everybody had to swear to some version of the Hippocratic Oath in order to get a license for breathing. I mean really, wouldn't it be peachy if each of our words and actions aligned with this? First do no harm. Here's a case in point. Shilling today for the nucular power industry, Steve Ford and the News and Observer have this to say:

When the ice caps begin to melt, it may be too late. Meanwhile, it is encouraging to see a company such as Progress Energy formulate a strategy that makes it a participant in the effort to combat global warming. That strategy could be good for business, and should be good for the environment as well if the expanded nuclear option can be pursued safely.

{originally posted at Scrutiny Hooligans}

{Part One here}

Congressman Charles Taylor is on his heels in the campaign for North Carolina's eleventh district. Questions regarding his financial irregularities are cropping up today after a week in which Taylor has had to explain and reexplain his position on the forest selloff. The credibility crisis in the Taylor camp is rising just as the debate over immigration heats up on Capitol Hill, and Charles Taylor's far right wing view on the issue aligns him with the most extreme elements in the House.

The Washington Post today reports a new hotspot in our troubled world. Not content with the War on Drugs, the War on Terrorism, the War on Christmas, the War on Marriage and the oh-so-popular War on Iraq, some of our nation's most powerful Christian leaders have declared that they are under attack in a new unholy War on Christians. And none other than your favorite gun-toting, money-laundering, bribe-taking, arm-twisting, lying sonofabitch Tom Delay is one of their main apostles and spokescrooks.

Keep going . . .

Looks like there's a high-noon showdown coming between Big Bidness and We the People, with an excellent pre-game guide prepared by the hard-working wonks at NC Policy Watch. I was especially happy to see NCPW training their guns on the Puppetshow's hand-wringing about the hired-help not knowing their place.

Ah, you have to love this, Sweet Home Alabama right here in NC. From the N&O a story about school kids that were standing up for their rights. They stayed the course, even in the face of racism. Could this be the next Democratic Majority?

From the North Carolina Conservative:

Every Member of Congress, and every candidate for Congress, is required to file Reports with the House Ethics Committee on their financial holdings and transactions. Apparently, few people take a serious look at these after they are filed. The Reports filed by incumbent 11th District Representative, Charles Taylor, for the last seven years (the ones available on-line) show five errors in excess of $1 million each, plus one unexplained item for about $20 million.

Who's shocked? I know I am!

The story about Taylor's double-dealings on the National Forests began with our own Southern Dem (here and on her own blogs The Southern Dem and Americans Deserve the Truth, and in conjunction with reporting by Screwy Hoolie of Scrutiny Hooligans). Now it has made the rounds through the blogosphere and ended up in a press release from the North Carolina Democratic Party. Way to go, SD! (Jerry, where's the love for the local blogs?) Text below the fold.

We were glad today to get a glimpse of John Hood's progressive reading list. His column included a mention of BlueNC, as well as a number of other progressive North Carolina blogs. It also included this provocative paragraph . . .