Civitas Institute

A doctored photo of the Governor with a Chinese military cap on her head. Isn't that just wonderful? This was included in a propaganda e-mail I received this morning from the "think-tank". What's worse than this picture, though, is the story behind it. A study in the use of xenophobia to attack the political opposition, using one of North Carolina's larger employers as the fall guy:

Argumentum ad hominem, Puppet style:

Civitas Institute, a conservative advocacy group, put out a release this morning listing the salaries of the top employees of the N.C. Association of Educators, the teachers group which is organizing the rally.

"The trend lines certainly indicate considerable growth in compensation benefits for NCAE executives, and I wonder if NCAE members are comfortable with those trends," said Civitas Institute policy analyst Bob Luebke, clearly trying to stir up trouble.

Clearly. And it's also clear their always dubious status as a "think tank" has now been demolished, and media should now refer to them as a political PR firm that represents the world's smallest union: Art Pope and a handful of his wealthy friends.

Via e-mail from the masters of propaganda:

Our state legal system should be fair and balanced. North Carolina's current civil liability, or tort system, is expensive and inefficient, resulting in litigation that adds unnecessary costs to doctors and businesses. Our tort system prevents North Carolina employers from creating and maintaining jobs, while encouraging doctors to either practice defensive medicine or leave our state. If state legislators want an effective solution to creating new jobs and boosting the economy, tort reform should be a legislative priority.

In reality, North Carolina's tort system is very conservative and business-friendly. But don't take my word for it: Here are some statutes lauded by the American Tort Reform Association:

There's broad agreement among scientists nowadays that global warming is real and caused in large part by human activities like burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests.

For example, a survey by university researchers published last year in EOS, the journal of the American Geophysical Union, found that 90 percent of earth scientists agree that mean global temperatures have generally risen since the 1800s, and 82 percent think human activity contributes significantly. As respondents' level of specialization in climate science increased, so did their confidence in human-caused global warming, with climatologists who actively work on climate change agreeing most strongly. That broad agreement is why prestigious scientific organizations including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Society and the National Academy of Sciences all refer to a climate science "consensus."

Training for a career in rabble-rousing:

The John W. Pope Civitas Institute along with American Majority are pleased to announce an Activist Training coming to North Carolina this weekend. The training will be conducted on Saturday, September 18 in Wilmington, NC to provide citizens with the tools necessary to become effective activists.

American Majority "Mechanic" Jessica Wood has been harping about this over at ConservativeNC for weeks, so methinks the time is right for a little "instruction" of our own.

Jesus is in trouble and needs your help! :o

In their efforts to roll back critical environmental legislation:

As with so many government programs, the Clean Smokestacks Bill is not living up to expectations. Costs are skyrocketing, increasing energy prices and adding insult to an already injured economy. Furthermore, benefits in terms of improved air quality are questionable.

Lawmakers should repeal recent regulations like Senate Bill 3’s renewable energy requirement. They also should abandon all attempts to regulate production and use of energy in the name of fighting global warming.

so-called "experts" repeatedly contradict themselves by attempting to fashion study results into a specific message.

Over the last few days, residents of Wake County, N.C. -- the site of a nationally watched battle over its school diversity policy -- have been receiving calls from phone pollsters asking for their views on the county's education future.

Yesterday, Facing South editor Sue Sturgis received one of the automated poll calls. But the question of who's behind it is a mystery: The number traces back to a line in Conyers, Georgia that doesn't pick up, and at no time during the "robo-poll" was information provided about who was doing the survey.

Such anonymous automated calls are likely in violation of North Carolina consumer protection laws, which require that the "name and contact information" of the person or group making the call be clearly identified.

The last time I read propaganda coming out of the Evil Empire, they claimed a line-up of luminaries would grace their big conference in Raleigh. To no one's surprise, not a single one of them bothered with the sideshow.

As if to compensate, the Empire is hosting another dark event, this time in Asheville. And who are the exciting speakers you can get to see for the mere price of twenty bucks? Well, it's a powerful lineup, as I discovered from this email.

This is how Civitas promoted its so-called leadership conference last month, promising the likes of Sarah Bailin', Haley Barbour, Mick Huckabee, Mitt Romney, a star-studded cast if every there was one.

But a funny thing happened on the way to reality. None of the national luminaries could be bothered to show up for the Big Event in Raleigh this weekend. Instead, the Civitasers ended up with an embarrassing roster of also-rans, including Grover Nordquist and Miss California, a woman who had her breasts surgically recrafted so she could win a beauty contest for god and the sanctity of marriage.

I feel bad for the Tasers, I really do. Not because all their famous guest declined their invitations, but because the organization felt the need to misrepresent the truth about their conference in the first place. But I guess that's what they do for a living, so we shouldn't be surprised.