NC GOP

Whether the GOP listens or not, some things must be said:

The Climate Convergence on Raleigh (CCR) will be a critical mass event of concerned citizens and organizations from across North Carolina that are fed up with inaction. We will rally, march, and meet with our legislators that have the responsibility of charting the course of our future. We must take it upon ourselves to enact the political changes necessary to avert further climate devastation.

As we've seen from the economic success of renewable energy, bringing our atmospheric carbon emissions down to 350 parts per million doesn't have to be painful, and it's damned sure less painful than losing a third of our state to the inevitable volume of ocean that will result from the loss of sea and land ice. Burying your head in the sand might bring short-term comfort, but when the waves start lapping at your neck, changing your mind will no longer be an option.

When the truth doesn't fit your agenda, it's time to make shit up:

But supporters of the rollback, including the bill's sponsor, Rep. Mike Hager, R-Rutherford, say the price of renewable energy is too high, and state taxpayers and ratepayers shouldn't be forced to subsidize the sector. Woodhouse said environmentalists are pushing green energy because they want power to be more expensive. "It is a goal of them to have higher electricity costs because they want to punish people for using power," he said. "They think using power is a bad thing. They want to punish people for flipping the switch."

Just when you think you've seen the archetypical, bottom-line worst of Dallas Woodhouse, he opens up that yap and gives you a new low-level of stupidity. Dude actually gets paid for this. Fortunately, you don't have to dig very deep to see the reality is exactly the opposite of what these demagogues are spouting:

Adam Linker reads the tea leaves:

We have seen this exact plan play out in a number of states. In Kentucky, there is chaos. The state auditor there began a probe when he heard reports that small medical providers needed new lines of credit to stay open. In the first several months of implementation, the auditor discovered, managed-care companies received $708 million from the state and paid out just $420 million in claims.

When you have a multiple-tier system with a private entity disbursing public funds to other private entities, that pie is going to get sliced to death before it gets to the hands-on care provider. Again, it ain't rocket science. And it's not like NC doesn't already have a disaster of its own to reference:

And by disseminating disinformation, it made liars out of a bunch of misguided volunteers, as well:

RALEIGH, NC–4:55 PM, Friday, April 12, 2013. Late this afternoon, we learned that some of our findings, revealed at the April 10 public Legislative hearing, may be inaccurate; so we plan to issue a full report after completing an audit. While we regret this human error and apologize for any embarrassment it may have caused to the presenters and to election officials, we caution the public against losing sight of the undeniable fact that North Carolina’s voter rolls are so corrupted that, without an effective voter ID law, it will be impossible to know who is really voting.

That's what's known as a logical leap: to admit your information is corrupted by inaccuracy, and then immediately follow that admission with a statement of "undeniable fact". This is not the first time DeLancey has been confounded by the truth:

Pimping cheap power while raising our rates:

On Tuesday, Duke named John Fremstad of Orlando, Fla., to head its data-center recruiting efforts. The program has been an enormous success in North Carolina, where Duke (NYSE:DUK) has been a major player in closing 15 data-center deals.

I'm not sure squandering our resources should be described as an "enormous success", and I'm pretty sure other residential customers would agree with me:

Because you know, it's not really a free market if you can't buy legislation, too:

House Bill 640, filed by Iredell Republican Robert Brawley, would roll back many of the ethics reforms passed by state lawmakers in the wake of the Speaker Jim Black scandal of 2006. The measure would repeal bans on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers, and relax requirements that lobbyists disclose such gifts.

What's the reasoning this time? Well, these lobbyists already have to report to their corporate masters. Who are we to get involved in an internal private sector matter? Isn't some conservative think-tank doing a "bad bill of the week" thing? I'm waiting.

We'll start with a salute to small-government, hands-off Conservative ideology:

Rob_Schofield 9:10am via TweetDeck War on cities continues - House Finance takes up plan to take Asheville's water system against the citizens' will #ncga #ncpol #ncgov

Our current Republican-led General Assembly reminds me of a recalcitrant 5-year-old methodically grabbing various items in the candy aisle before mom finally blows her top and smacks the soft tissue where he sits. In this case, the voters are "mom", and the time for blowing their tops is long past.

Right, so: it's not a poodle, it's a ferret that's been jacked up on steroids and taken to weekly hair appointments since he was just a little guy, all so he could be sold as a toy poodle for $150. And you're right, it doesn't appear to be an economically sound swindle, which makes him even more appropriate for NC Republicans.

On the un-Constitutionality of stifling college voters:

The complaint of the United States alleges that defendant Symm, by virtue of certain practices, including the use of a unique form, has abridged the right of Prairie View dormitory residents to vote in violation of their rights under the 14th, 15th and 26th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

This is the case that set up the appeal to the (US) Supreme Court (Symm vs. US) to which everybody is now referring. If you read on, you'll understand why it was affirmed with no commentary other than Rehnquist's whiny dissent. The lower court had tons of relevant precedent backing it up, including the Constitution and Statute: