rights

It appears we are returning to an era where even the most fundamental of economic laws will be cast aside in a populist rush to provide lifestyle enhancements to a broader swath of the citizenry. When I first read this, I felt compelled to check the date to make sure it hadn't been issued on April 1 - as a joke. But it wasn't... and it's real. The following is a snippet out of yesterday's National Post...

Vacationing a human right, EU chief says. The European Union has declared traveling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers' dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips. Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, proposed a strategy that could cost European taxpayers hundreds of millions of euros a year, The Times of London reports.

The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to overturn a referendum approving non-partisan city council elections in Kinston is a clear example of the abuse of Federal government power and a insult to the intelligence of all voters, North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections said.

While Republicans are calling for Congress to “repeal and replace” the new Federal health care law, North Carolina's Libertarians want to make more fundamental changes. Several candidates said the law is unconstitutional and an infringement on individual liberty. They support North Carolina joining the 14 states who are suing the Federal government challenging the new law.

North Carolina should assert its sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and refuse to enforce laws or comply with Federal mandates that violate the Constitution, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina said Sunday.

With your indulgence, I'm using my blog-space today with some thoughts that aren't NC-specific, but ones that I hope will be shared with all citizens. Today is the 40th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King's death. I remember the grief, shock and fear I felt that day when I first heard the news. Funny; forty years have past and that grief is still as strong today as it was then, but in the meantime, it has been tempered with words and actions.

Still, I long for A Voice that will unite people once again for justice, equality and human dignity. Perhaps, we are the ones we've been waiting for.

Get ready for tomorrow if you haven't already voted.

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At meetings of both the Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Commissioners last night, two important issues were addressed.
The City postponed a decision on a "steep slope" development regulation. Meanwhile, across the alley, the County approved its first zoning law 3-2.

Early voting started in North Carolina this past week and my wife and I wanted to take advantage of it. I am glad we did.

From what I understand from the BOE workers, local BOE databases were swapped over to a single state-wide database in Raleigh this past spring. That kind of database merger sweeps in all the problems you can possibly imagine. I was listed as inactive, even though they have me voting every two years since, like, forever. And my wife's data was also wonky - they still had her maiden name, we have been married for 13 years. The main problem stemmed, I think, from the 'geoloc' database. Our residence is on Brookstone Court - least that is what the street sign says. Nothing could be changed with our registration until we figured out Raleigh thought we lived on Brookstone DRIVE. Just that basic error locked up everything.