NCGA

There has been much national coverage of how Senator Tom Apodaca has been shilling for car dealers to stifle competition in the automobile business. In case you missed it, this story epitomizes the corrupt influence of business interests on government policy.

From the state that brought you the nation’s first ban on climate science comes another legislative gem: a bill that would prohibit automakers from selling their cars in the state.

Members of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus show their support for protesters and those arrested for walking into "The People's House" (N.C. General Assembly) and refusing to leave.

First busload of arrestees is driven to Raleigh Correction Center past the hundreds of protesters on the street.

Supported by a crowd of more than 500 people filling the mall area outside the N.C. General Assembly in Raleigh, 57 people were arrested for civil disobedience at the legislative building this afternoon and evening -- arrests of people peaceably assembled and singing songs of peace and unity to protest the ALEC-ification of our state. This brings the total number of civil-disobedience arrests so far to 153, including 17 arrests April 29, 30 arrests on May 6, 49 arrests on May 13, and 57 arrests today (May 20).

Political troubles looming in the next election cycle:

So in next spring’s primary, for example, we can expect that anti-tax, tea-party Republicans who vote for any tax-reform measure will get hit with a charge that they supported a tax increase. After the bills are debated, and maybe approved, we will have to look at the broad picture, not just small pieces, to determine if an incumbent represented us well. And as we do that, we should have a little sympathy for these veterans of the no-win battle of tax reform.

You know where sympathy falls in the dictionary, right? Those who would shift the tax burdens from the wealthy to the poor will not get a single whit of sympathy from me. When you choose to aid a small minority of the population who need no aid at the expense of a much larger portion who already do, you've surrendered your right to be treated with patience and respect, much less sympathy. Let them spin until their heads fall off.

Listen my children, and you shall hear
Of the right-wing extremists' irrational fear ...

Putting ideology above the health and safety of the citizens:

Today, for example, about 94% of adults under 65 in Massachusetts have health coverage, the highest rate in the nation. The state guarantees coverage through Medicaid or commercial insurance under a plan developed in 2006 by then-Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, and Democratic state lawmakers. By contrast, only 68% of working-age Texans are insured, the lowest rate. Residents of the two states also have vastly different health outcomes. Potentially preventable deaths, a measure of the overall effectiveness of a healthcare system, are 36% higher in Texas than in Massachusetts, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The realization of just how inhumane the rejection of Medicaid expansion is, is probably what drove Aldona Wos to desperately try to deflect responsibility. She got caught and exposed by the mainstream media, but they need to take mortality rates like the ones above out of the editorial pages and put them where they should be, on the front page. There is no plane crash or natural disaster that takes anywhere near the lives that cancer does, and refusing to take steps that could prevent those deaths is borderline criminal negligence. If that isn't "newsworthy", I don't know what the hell is. Speaking of shifting responsibility:

Robbing the poor to give to the rich:

The current proposals at the General Assembly would reduce or eliminate the personal income tax (a huge tax cut for the wealthy) and would make up some of the lost revenue by increasing the sales tax. The net result—the wealthy would pay much less in taxes while middle- and low-income families would pay more. That’s the Great Tax Shift. Lawmakers want to shift the tax load from wealthy North Carolinians onto working families.

The average people of this state have been betrayed. Betrayed by those who promised tax cuts for all, but only ever intended for those at the top to benefit. One need only take a closer look at AFP's chosen cheerleader to see the truth of that:

Activists eagerly listening to #NCGA #taxreform discussion in Greensboro. #ncpol #consnc #BackInTheGameNC twitter.com/AFPNC/status/3…

— AFP-NC (@AFPNC) May 16, 2013