n&o

From Under the Dome.

One of the more intriguing poll numbers in the latest monthly Public Policy Polling survey due out later today: 45 percent. That's the portion of voters who believe the N.C. General Assembly is causing the state "national embarrassment."

Bound to be good for business, right?

For me, 2012 will be remembered as the year that American conservatives, including their leaders here in the Old North State, decided that telling lies is no longer a sin. Aided and abetted by the mainstream media, Republican politicians today can say whatever they want with impunity.

It doesn't have to be that way. At least one national mainstream publication has dared to call a spade a spade: Paul Ryan Repeats Auto Bailout, Medicare Lies.

And here in North Carolina, Bob Geary, at Indy Week, picks up the cause of truth, where BlueNC leaves off.

Pat McCrory. Man of Mystery.

Unlike Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who's been widely criticized for not revealing enough of his tax history, even though he did disclose his 2010 income tax return and a 2011 estimate, McCrory's refusal to share his personal tax returns is total and unyielding.

At the state level, if McCrory were a different candidate with a more robust record in public office or in business, the question of how much he's been paid and by whom might be dismissed as an effort to divert attention from his accomplishments. McCrory, who's worked hard to master the art of the political shuck-and-grin, is trying his best to brush it off as nothing the public should be concerned about.

This kind of hit job happens almost everyday ... and we need to call them out every time it happens. Kudos to Democratic Muse for digging into the details.

A good editorial in the N&O today calls on the General Assembly to think more carefully about the risks and benefits of fracking. In the process, the editorial mentions that even some Republicans are leery of the fracking push. Is that true? I must have missed the memo.

Details below.

The public editor of New York Times today set off a firestorm in the blogosphere for asking a ridiculous question about whether the paper should become a "truth vigilante" in producing news for its vaunted pages. Thousands of comments have poured into the paper's website, the vast majority of which could be summed up with a single word: Duh.

As a journalism school grad and the husband of a J-school professor, I followed the discussion with much interest and occasional amusement, until I came across a diary at Daily Kos tonight which had me rolling on the floor. Well, not literally rolling on the floor, more like chuckling.

If you're in the mood for some serious snark, take a look, and them come back so I can wrap up this post for you.

John Frank, Lynn Bonner, Rob Christensen. Come on, guys. The flap over Governor Perdue's joke about neverending political campaigns is beneath you. Kudos to Chris Mackey for calling you out.

Previously.

Ouch. Little Ricky is now "the News and Observer's" Rick Martinez. The stench is contagious.

The latest attempt to absolve Republican legislative leaders of any responsibility for all the pink slips flying into teachers’ mailboxes across the state comes from the News & Observer’s Rick Martinez, whose latest column reads like an only slightly rewritten press release from the office of House Speaker Thom Tillis

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The N&O's continuing reliance on this fact-free tool of Art Pope is an embarrassment to its long tradition of responsible editorial leadership. Please write Steve Ford (steve.ford@newsobserver.com) and encourage him to Dump the Skunk.

One week ago we instituted a new policy banning links to the Raleigh News and Observer at BlueNC. The policy was created in response to the newspaper's reliance on propaganda from the Show on its editorial pages in general, with a specific concern over the use of WPTF's Rick Martinez as an op-ed columnist. For my part, the new policy has been a breeze. It's been easy to find important stories at other sites, with the added benefit of being able to uncover fresh, new sources of information. That said, I'd welcome the chance to resume linking to the Old Reliable. All they need to do is Dump Little Ricky.

As a J-school junkie and political worry wart, I feel a sense of desperation about newspaper journalism in North Carolina. I believe our state's newspapers may be the last bastion of thoughtfulness for many communities. They remind me of canaries in coal mines.