A Wealthy White Racist & Bigot doing well with North Carolina Bigots, Racists & Conservatives?

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/247250-poll-trump-leads-gop-field-in-north-carolina

The Hill shared a link.

 

Poll: Trump leads GOP field in North Carolina

Trump has 16 percent of GOP primary voters and does best with the "very conservative."

THEHILL.COMw

RSN: "Thick Orange Gooey Stuff" With Arsenic, Lead Found in River Near Duke Energy Power Plant

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News

---

Faiza Patel | America Needs a Policing Revolution

Faiza Patel, Al Jazeera America
Patel writes: "The problem, as President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have acknowledged, is a national one that extends well beyond the fates of those two men. But if the administration is serious about rebuilding the trust of minority communities in the legal system and police, its current proposals are not enough to help matters much."
READ MORE

Police Killings Reveal Chasms Between Races
John Eligon, The New York Times
Eligon writes: "Race has never been an easy topic of conversation in America. But the recent high-profile deaths of black people at the hands of police officers in Ferguson, New York, Cleveland and elsewhere - and the nationwide protests those deaths spurred - have exposed sharp differences about race relations among friends, co-workers, neighbors and even relatives in unexpected and often uncomfortable ways."
READ MORE

Comcast Opponents Are Teaming Up Against Time Warner Cable Merger
Brian Fung, The Washington Post
Fung writes: "The Stop Mega Comcast Coalition argues that a merger between the nation's two biggest cable companies would give the combined entity too much control over broadband, television programming and advertising."
READ MORE

US to Keep More Troops in Afghanistan as Violence Spikes
Phil Stewart, Reuters
Stewart writes: "The United States will keep up to 1,000 more soldiers than previously planned in Afghanistan into next year, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Saturday, in a recognition of the still formidable challenge from Taliban insurgents."
READ MORE

Why Some Republicans Want to Cancel the State of the Union Address
Paul Waldman, The Washington Post
Waldman writes: "The idea of disinviting Obama from delivering the State of the Union address is apparently gaining currency on the right. Though it seems like the pettiest of actions, there's something significant driving it: A fundamental unwillingness to accept that Barack Obama is legitimately the President of the United States."
READ MORE

These Republicans Think It's Time for the GOP to Act on Climate Change
Ben Goldfarb, VICE News
Goldfarb writes: "The Republican Party, long a stronghold of fervid global warming disbelief, has lately begun to temper its denial - but the emergence of true GOP leadership on climate change is still a long way off."
READ MORE

"Thick Orange Gooey Stuff" With Arsenic, Lead Found in River Near Duke Energy Power Plant
Emily Atkin, ThinkProgress
Atkin writes: "Contaminated waste from a retired coal plant in Rowan County, North Carolina, has been found leaking into a tributary of the second largest river in the state, environmental groups charged on Thursday."
READ MORE

GOP Moral Bankruptcy in North Carolina

The US is the only INDUSTRIALIZED NATION that fails to provide UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE...and our statistics show it.

Why would any reasonable person deny Americans HEALTH CARE?

Institute for Southern Studies

Yesterday at 1:02pm · 

On Monday the North Carolina NAACP held a mock funeral to dramatize the deaths that will result because of state politicians' refusal to expand Medicaid. The following day, state House Speaker and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis -- an outspoken opponent of expansion -- said that perhaps the state should reconsider.

INSTITUTE INDEX: Support for Medicaid expansion grows in the South

The South has been a bastion of resistance to expanding Medicaid to more low-income, uninsured Americans under the Affordable Care Act -- but now even one...

SOUTHERNSTUDIES.ORG

Date on which the North Carolina NAACP held a mock funeral in Raleigh to protest North Carolina politicians' refusal to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act: 10/20/2014

Number of caskets protesters carried through the city streets to the General Assembly to dramatize the deaths that will occur as a result of that policy: 3

Number of North Carolinians expected to die this year alone because of the Republican-led legislature's rejection of Medicaid expansion: 2,800

Number of North Carolinians who now lack health insurance but who would get coverage under Medicaid expansion: more than 500,000

Days after the protest that state House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate Thom Tillis, who has faced criticism for hisoutspoken opposition to Medicaid from Democratic incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan, said the state should consider expanding the program: 1

Year in which Tillis ran political ads bragging that he "stopped Obama's Medicaid expansion cold": 2014

Percent of the cost of Medicaid expansion that would be paid for by the federal government through 2017: 100

Percent of the cost that would be paid for by the federal government thereafter: 90

Amount North Carolina hospitals stand to lose in reimbursements over the next decade as a result of rejecting expansion: $11.3 billion

Amount North Carolina would lose in Medicaid funding over that same period: $39.6 billion

Total amount that the 24 states refusing Medicaid expansion would lose in federal funds through 2022: about $423 billion

Of those 24 non-expansion states, number that are in the South: 10

Number of Southern states that have agreed to expand Medicaid coverage to date: 3*

According to a poll conducted last month, percent of likely North Carolina voters who support Medicaid expansion: 57

Percent who oppose it: 28

* Arkansas, Kentucky, and West Virginia

http://www.southernstudies.org/2014/10/institute-index-support-for-medicaid-expansion-gro.html

RSN: Elizabeth Warren | Our New Bill to Fight Hobby Lobby

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News

*RSN: WORTH FIGHTING FOR! A Reader wrote in recently and asked: "Where do you find the energy to do this day in and day out?" The energy is all around us. It's the injustice, the need to stand up and be counted, the need to confront the threats. The energy comes from you. Help us in this fight. / Marc Ash - Founder, Reader Supported News*

Okay, I'll make a donation.

---

Elizabeth Warren | Our New Bill to Fight Hobby Lobby

Elizabeth Warren, Reader Supported News
Warren writes: "The bill reverses the Supreme Court's decision by making it clear that employers cannot deny access to any of the health benefits required by the ACA - not immunizations, not blood transfusions, not HIV treatments, and not birth control."
READ MORE

Palestinians Say Death Toll Over 70
Orlando Crowcroft, Guardian UK
Crowcroft reports: "The death toll in Gaza continued to rise on Thursday as Israel's strikes against Hamas intensified, while residents in Tel Aviv awoke to explosions as rockets were shot down over the city by the Iron Dome defence system."
READ MORE

Kerry Faces Uphill Battle to Defuse Afghan Election Standoff
Maria Golovnina and Mirwais Harooni, Reuters
Excerpt: "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive to a skeptical audience in Afghanistan this week to try to resolve a deepening crisis over a disputed presidential election which has stirred ethnic tensions in the fragile country."
READ MORE

Call to Action for Detroit: Stop the Water Shut Offs and Restore Democracy
Ben Ptashnik and Victoria Collier, Reader Supported News
Excerpt: "On July 18 thousands of activists and dozens of organizations will converge on downtown Detroit to protest the privatization of the city's assets and the disconnection of water to tens of thousands of low-income residents."
READ MORE

From Voting Battles to Coal Ash Spills, What's Up With North Carolina?
Mary C. Curtis, The Washington Post
Curtis writes: "So what happened? Depending on whom you ask, the state has either lost its way or is finding it."
READ MORE

Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Decimates Fish Populations in Appalachia
Matt Wasson, Appalachian Voices
Wasson reports: "A study from researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published this month provides strong new evidence that mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia is devastating downstream fish populations."
READ MORE

 

 

 

Opposition to gaming not based solely on morality

Opposition to gaming not based solely on morality

Rev. Michael Edds Contributing columnist

 

Reading the gambling owners’ response in the Laurinburg Exchange this morning, I was saddened by their gross misrepresentation of what the citizens of Laurinburg presented Tuesday evening to the city council. I did not see even one of these owners attending or speaking at the meeting. Yet, they assumed to know what was said. We never addressed the proliferation of gambling in our community as just a moral issue but from the perspective of the selling of a dangerous addiction, namely gambling and the negative effects it can have. They tried to marginalize us as a bunch of religious folks. No, I am not ashamed of being a Christian but when we attended the meeting, we came as tax-paying, concerned and involved citizens of Laurinburg. So, since these owners missed the meeting, I would like to present to them the facts.

 

Gambling is defined as “Taking a risk to obtain something and often means losing what one has and obtaining nothing.” Recently, internet gambling has proliferated all over Laurinburg. According to calculations by The Fayetteville Observer, this includes 21 locations and 451 machines, of which the city earns $88,800 in fees.

 

Some had said to me, “Hey preacher, it’s legal, provides jobs, it fills up empty buildings, so don’t get in the way of business regardless of what you and others think is moral or immoral.” However, the problem is much deeper than a moral discussion. Gambling is a deadly, brutal and highly destructive addiction. Five percent of America’s population is at risk of this addiction. That is 16 million people. It is more dangerous than drug addiction. This addiction is ravaging and destroying lives and families. It has the highest suicide rate of all addictions in the nation.

 

Dr. Howard J. Shaffer, director of the Harvard Medical School for Gambling Addiction states: “Today, there are more children experiencing adverse symptoms from gambling than from drugs and the problem is growing.” Dr. Rachel Volberg, an expert on compulsive gambling in America, states that 18 to 21 year olds are three times more likely to have problems with gambling addiction.

 

National statistics tell us that 5 percent of the US population is at risk of gambling addiction, which means 5 percent of Laurinburg and Scotland County are at grave risk to this addiction.

 

In Laurinburg that means 775 potential addicts and 1800 in the county.

 

Sixty percent of addicted gamblers will become involved in crime. In Laurinburg there will be 465 new criminals and Scotland County — 1080. These people will no longer be tax payers but tax liabilities.

 

Twenty percent of addicted gamblers will commit suicide — Laurinburg 155 people, Scotland County 360.

 

Twenty percent will file for bankruptcy — Laurinburg 155 people, Scotland County 360. Median family income is $26,802 for city and county. This addiction will affect family income in Laurinburg in the amount of $4,540,000 in a year. Scotland County will be $9,648,000. This is a tragic loss in purchasing power.

 

Fifty percent of gambling addicts will abuse their spouse and children. In Laurinburg 388 new abusers, in Scotland County, 900 new abusers.

 

Fifty percent of addicted gamblers will divorce; in Laurinburg, that means 388 families broken and in Scotland County, 900 families.

 

Research Institute on Addiction states that those living in a 10 mile radius of gambling shops can increase the chance of addiction by 90 percent.

 

Gambling addiction cost the US between $32 billion to $54 billion dollars. The cost for the city and county will be astronomical.

 

One addict adversely affects the lives of 8 to 10 other people. That is 6,200 people affected in Laurinburg, and 14,400 in Scotland County.

 

Business and Employment Costs: Lateness to work, missed work days, loss of productivity, theft and embezzlement.

 

(Statistic sources include: Harvard Medical School, Baylor University, National Council of Problem Gambling, Columbia University Medical Center, National Research Council, California Council on Problem Gambling and the Connecticut Department of Mental Health)

 

I serve on the city/county Crime and Drug Committee, which is commissioned to develop proactive ways to address the violence, crime and drugs that are rampant in our community. In the last decade, 30 young people have been murdered on our streets. The county is the fifth most violent county in the state. We have some of the highest rates on teen pregnancy, child poverty, and hunger and child abuse. We have the highest unemployment rate in the state. Gangs are thriving. Gun shots fill the night air. Drug and alcohol abuse is pervasive. Our committee’s task is daunting at best without opening the flood gate for a far worse, and far more destructive addiction — that of gambling.

 

These purveyors of gambling addiction are not opening up businesses for the community benefit or community good. They are making money off another’s calamity. They are no better than drug dealers. Those who rent buildings to these gambling shops are accomplices of this evil. Who in their right mind would rent to drug dealers so why rent to another seller of addiction? These people are selling Laurinburg’s and Scotland County’s future for a fast buck.

 

Lumberton City Council just passed an ordinance that enacts strict rules for gambling there. Our city council is the protector of our elderly, our children, our families and our quality of life. It is the first line of defense against those who would ravage our people for making money at any cost.

 

We call upon and implore the council to remove city ordinances in which these sellers of addiction can hide. We plead with our leaders to immediately take action to legislate ordinances to prohibit the most destructive of addictions.

 

There are families, men, women, teenagers, children and the elderly who will be damaged and destroyed if action is not taken. Laurinburg’s future lies in the council’s hands.

 

Failure to act will cost the city far more than the $88,800 in fees that it collects from the gambling shops. Deitrich Bonhoeffer, who bravely stood against the genocide, and hate of Hitler and Nazism in Germany made an incredible statement: “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

 

We as the citizens of Laurinburg call upon our city council to take swift action to rid our great community of the plague of gambling and the destruction that it will surely bring.



http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/opinion-opinion_columns/4763007/Opposition-to-gaming-not-based-solely-on-morality

RSN: The Newly Insane State of North Carolina, Duke Energy Caught Intentionally Dumping 61 Million Gallons of Coal Waste Into North Carolina Water,

This is sooo insane, it needs to be share.....

Todd Akin 2.0? (photo: Facebook)

The Newly Insane State of North Carolina

By Charles Pierce, Esquire

22 March 14

oly hell, our old pal, Agenda 21, the secret UN plot to steal all our golfs, is making an appearance in the Republican senatorial primary in the newly insane state of North Carolina.

Brannon, a physician, is running as the tea party alternative to North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, who has been the presumed frontrunner for the GOP nomination. A March 11 poll from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found Brannon and Tillis tied at 14 percent to lead the Republican primary field. For the uninitiated, Agenda 21 is a non-binding UN plan regarding sustainable development that is the subject of numerous fringe conspiracy theories. Glenn Beck, for instance, wrote a dystopian novel about it, and Beck's news site, The Blaze, has warned readers that it could lead to a one-world government. "This scam of Agenda 21, this scam of humans are poisoning the earth, is a scam," Brannon said. "They are using that to control you, to control me, to control life." "That's why Obamacare, Agenda 21, NDAA, all these things are the collective over the individual. The spirit of 1776 must be rebirthed because we are living in the Orwellian 1984."..."I want to know how Agenda 21 is attacking our private property," he said. "This is going to be bloody because Mr. Tillis does not want that kind of fight, he's not comfortable with those forums. So I'm going to disagree with this. This is truly confrontational because you know what happened? They took my Constitution away."

Also his shoes, his belt, and several sharp objects, one presumes.

These really are the fking mole people.

 

Michigan Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Is Struck Down
Erik Eckholm, The New York Times
Eckholm reports: "A federal judge in Detroit struck down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage on Friday, the latest in a string of court decisions across the country to rule that denying marriage to gay and lesbian couples is a violation of the Constitution."
READ MORE

New Jersey Muslims Appeal Federal Ruling on NYPD Surveillance
Associated Press
Excerpt: "A group of Muslims from New Jersey is appealing a federal judge's ruling that determined that the New York City Police Department's surveillance of Muslims did not violate their civil rights."
READ MORE

Snowden's Leaked NSA Trove Yields Its Secrets Only Slowly
Paul Farhi, The Washington Post
Farhi writes: "Why, given that Snowden's leak occurred about 10 months ago, are revelations still emerging?"
READ MORE

Duke Energy Caught Intentionally Dumping 61 Million Gallons of Coal Waste Into North Carolina Water
Emily Atkin, ThinkProgress
Atkin writes: "North Carolina regulators on Thursday cited Duke Energy for illegally and deliberately dumping 61 million gallons of toxic coal ash waste into a tributary of the Cape Fear River, which provides drinking water for several cities and towns in the state."
READ MORE

Scott Olsen, Occupy Protester Wounded by Oakland Police Gets $4.5 Million
Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle
Lee reports: "Oakland agreed to pay an Iraq War veteran $4.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit he filed after a city police officer shot him in the head with a beanbag during an Occupy protest, nearly killing him and leaving him with permanent brain damage, attorneys said Friday."
READ MORE

Daily Kos Recommended: •Ryan: No, we really don't have an Obamacare replacement plan et al

Daily Kos Recommended

American Family Radio guest host calls for left-wing academics to be ‘taken out and shot’ Ryan: No, we really don't have an Obamacare replacement plan Reports: White House won't release CIA docs to Senate Intelligence Committee, calls for Brennan’s ouster increase Rubbing shoulders with the affluent Paul Ryan 'poverty trap' theories quote white nationalist Cartoon: Percival Dunwoody, Idiot Time-Traveler From 1909 Christie unilaterally shuts down all Tesla car stores in NJ Rick Perry booed on Jimmy Kimmel show at SXSW Paul Ryan says men in 'inner cities' aren't 'even thinking about working' Conservative hero Ben Carson says U.S. is 'very much like Nazi Germany' TYT busts Fox, Fox slams Obama, Obama jabs Zach, ACA wins the match McConnell campaign releases web video of their candidate doing nothing but looking creepy Another Wacko Republican Candidate:  North Carolina Senate candidate, obstetrician and general harbinger of doom Greg Brannon that is sure to strengthen credibility for the GOP: Republican Senate candidate says Planned Parenthood is planning to kill your three-month-old babies Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announces she will not run for re-election Illinois Republican Bruce Rauner: I'm the '.01 percent,' and I'm awesome Welcome to Hooters! Is that a gun in your pants, or ... GunFAIL LX Obama planning overtime pay expansion for millions of workers Cartoon: Obama calls Putin Cartoon: Civil liberties brainbuster Yes! Oregon becomes fourth state to block food stamp cuts and restore all funding Make change happen. Log in or sign up for Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Thanks for all you do, The Daily Kos team

P.S. Please help keep Daily Kos strong by chipping in $3.

Wow, Clay Aiken. Who knew? [video worth watching]

Daily Kos Recommended

A modern day miracle: Ken Ham delivered the decisive blow in the creationism debate Mother Jones publishes Koch Brothers secret meeting guest list Wow, Clay Aiken. Who knew? Cartoon: How Vladimir Putin protects Russia's children Bill Nye proves our kids need to study science Google slaps phishing warning on misleading GOP website Cartoon: No more Woody Allen flicks Another day, another sign that Mitch McConnell is in trouble Cartoon: From the desk of President Obama CBO Director: Obamacare won't kill jobs, it'll create them Paul Ryan has momentary lapse into truthfulness Unconstitutional and unintimidated in Wisconsin! NBC: We skipped terror tribute because it wasn't "tailored for the U.S. Audience" Red Lobster Blues Keith Olbermann: They're killing dogs in Sochi Recommended, comment, connect. Log in or sign up for Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Thanks for all you do, The Daily Kos team

P.S. Please help keep Daily Kos strong by chipping in $3.