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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Republicans in North Carolina are pushing a bill to raise your parents' taxes if you register to vote at college.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/04/04/17600742-fear-of-the-youth-vote-now-in-north-carolina?lite
Fear of the youth vote, now in North Carolina
maddowblog.msnbc.com
In November, Republicans won complete control of government in North Carolina. They have the governorship, veto-proof majorities in both legislative chambers and control of the elected Supreme Court. Now North Carolina Republicans have set about the business of using their new m …
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:59 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Apr 05, 2013 6:43 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Fear of the youth vote, now in North Carolina
By Laura Conaway
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Thu Apr 4, 2013 12:30 PM EDT.
In November, Republicans won complete control of government in North Carolina. They have the governorship, veto-proof majorities in both legislative chambers and control of the elected Supreme Court. Now North Carolina Republicans have set about the business of using their new majority to maintain their majority.
Using means now familiar in other states, North Carolina Republicans are proposing several ways of making it harder to vote. But one of the tactics is new to me. Republican State Senator Bill Cook wants to make voting harder for college students in particular, and to do that, he's pushing a bill that ties students' voter registration to their parents' taxes. If the student registers to vote at their college address, the parents would get a tax hike. They could no longer claim the student as a dependent, so the family would pay more in taxes.
The local offshoot of the Tea Party poll-watch group True the Vote sounds excited about the prospects. The Beaufort Observer quotes this statement from the *Voter Integrity Project of North Carolina:
We've gotten a bill into the Senate that Progressives are going to hate almost more than they hate Voter ID.
If other states pick up this legislation, it will shift the landscape of college town voting all across the nation and may even put "college states" like Massachusetts back into play because so many students use the same-day registration rules to vote in that state.
Here's the thing: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled back in 1979 that college students have the right to register and vote where they go to school. What North Carolina Republicans are proposing to do, then, essentially requires a student's parents to pay more if the student exercises that right.
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Back in February, an Indiana Republican proposed revoking the right for students to register at their colleges. After college Democrats and Republicans in Indiana joined in pushing back, the sponsor promised to amend her bill so that it would be constitutional, by which she meant dropping the idea.
For now, North Carolina Republicans are going for it. Cook sent around a statement saying that his proposals will be appreciated by anyone who considers voting "a sacred duty." Also, he says, the new restrictions will save money. In addition to making families pay more if their students vote at school, Cook and his Republican colleagues want to cut early voting nearly in half and reduce the number of places for early voting to one, which is a recipe for longer lines. They want to eliminate all voting on Sundays, and no longer allow you to both register and vote on Election Day. They also want to require new ID you never had to show before and that thousands of people do not have (the former Democratic governor vetoed the proposal in 2011).
Deeper dive: "Art Pope-backed lawmaker leads push for new voting restrictions in NC"
*Previously on our show: The Voter Integrity Project calls itself a nonprofit but isn't; challenges registration of 30,000 North Carolina voters weeks before the election.
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Fri Apr 05, 2013 6:51 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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HuffPost Politics
"North Carolina is quickly becoming a national laughingstock, on par with some of the more, shall we say "backwards" states in our union. Friends in D.C. often greet me with, "What the hell is going on down in your home state?" I'm getting awfully tired of trying to defend the state as a whole by writing those in the legislature in Raleigh off as ideologues. It is getting harder and harder to do so."
An Open Letter To The North Carolina Legislature
www.huffingtonpost.com
Friends in D.C. often greet me with, "What the hell is going on down in your home state?" I'm getting awfully tired of trying to defend the state as a whole by writing those in the legislature in Raleigh off as ideologues. It is getting harder and harder to do so |
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Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:53 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Jamison Doran.
Youth advocate and nature lover living in Washington, D.C.
An Open Letter to the North Carolina Legislature
Posted: 04/04/2013 12:05 pm
Before I get into the nitty gritty, I just want to get something off my chest. I love North Carolina. Truly I do. It took me a long time to get there, in part because moving to a new town when you're 10 is hard and I didn't want to allow myself to love this new place. But I do. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I have found that to be almost painfully true as someone who is no longer a resident of North Carolina. I find myself often longing for the cool mountain breezes, ice-cold creeks, sweet tea, and southern hospitality. I wear a pendant of the state around my neck, publicly displaying where my heart lies, and that while Washington, D.C. might be my home right now, it'll never actually be home.
Yes. I don't live in North Carolina anymore. I left for "greener pastures" so to speak. I come from an area that has some of the highest unemployment in the country and was just listed as the fifth most miserable metro area in the country. I needed to get out, and D.C. presented fantastic opportunities for a twenty-something girl, both professionally and personally. That being said, I've always thought North Carolina would someday become my "forever home." While I've grown to love my new city, I'm not sure it has the staying power in my heart North Carolina has. I'm not sure it's where I want to build a life with a partner and maybe, someday, have a few children.
You see, North Carolina has so much potential. When my parents moved my sister and me to the state it was due, in part, to an article listing our small town as one of the best places in the country to raise a family. Things weren't always easy (and I do wonder what metrics they used to make that determination), but I wouldn't trade that move for anything. North Carolina proved itself to be a fantastic place to raise a family, and the experiences I was able to take advantage of are incredible and the envy of some of my new D.C. friends. It is because of how great my childhood and adolescence were that makes me think about moving back to the state at some point.
However, my views and thoughts about moving back have changed significantly in the past few months. My heart breaks to see what you legislators are doing to my great state. It seems a day doesn't pass without me reading an article about another horrid piece of legislation you're trying to pass. You are letting your own personal ideological agendas get in the way of what is best for your constituents.
Take H.J.R. 494, for example. This resolution would establish a state religion in North Carolina. I think we all know what religion that implies. What a slap in the face to hundreds of thousands of people who reside within North Carolina's borders but do not identify as Christian. What a slap in the face to the people, like me, who would like to eventually move back (and there are more than a few of us young'uns who'd like to do so) who don't identify as Christian. What a slap in the face to companies, who don't discriminate based on religion in their hiring practices, who would like to setup shop in your state. Now, I know what you'll say. You'll say that this bill isn't discriminatory and all of that nonsense. I'm not stupid. Establishing Christianity as the religion of North Carolina is letting all of us non-Christians know exactly what you think of us. You may not "actively" discriminate against those who have different views of God than yours, but you are damn well doing it passive aggressively.
We could also look at the Racial Justice Act and how you all want to repeal it. Yes. You want to repeal a piece of legislation that was passed in order to protect defendants from racial bias during their trials. Something which has happened in the past and the Racial Justice Act has helped to right those wrongs. Michigan State University College of Law did a study that helped prompt this act, in which they showed racial bias being used in determining juries. Now, I'd like to believe race doesn't play a factor in anything anymore. But I'm not naïve, and I know it does and sadly probably will in some capacity for the rest of my life. It's really discouraging we need laws like these on the books, but studies have shown time and time again that this issue is a real issue. Repealing this is a slap in the face for not only all those who are not Caucasian but for anyone who wants to see our criminal justice system as fair and as efficient as possible.
Or we could look at HB 217, which would allow youth as young as 13 to enter into the adult criminal justice system and remove judicial oversight. If this bill were to pass, it would give prosecutors complete discretion over the future of North Carolina children (and yes, a 13-year-old is still considered a child) and strip juvenile court judges' of their decision making power, which is the only neutral and unbiased decision maker in transfer cases. Instead you could wind up with a juvenile offender, who desperately needs rehabilitation in a safe environment instead of incarceration, in an adult prison, which has actually been shown to increase the risk of recidivism, especially among young offenders. A recent exposé on Rock Center with Brian Williams delved into this issue. One consequence of this (out of the many) is the issue that a child in an adult correctional facility is not safe with adult inmates and is more likely to be put in solitary confinement. This is something that is emotionally and psychologically traumatic, and resulted in the child featured on Rock Center committing suicide. Is that what you all want? A bunch of children being put through something so psychologically damaging that they feel their only way out is to take their own lives. Outrageous.
We could also talk about the Dorothea Dix campus. That was a royal cluster, wasn't it? It must have really confused the business community (the ones who you say you have their backs). How are we supposed to attract new businesses to our state if you can just tear up leases because you don't agree with the people who came before you who put them into place? That has got to be all sorts of comforting to business leaders.
I could bring up the proposed Medicaid overhaul, charter schools no longer required to have licensed teachers, or the ridiculous IDs with the "fuchsia" (apparently that is distinctly different from pink, according to the McCrory administration) bars on them for "illegal immigrants" (your words, not mine). We could talk about the proposed two-year waiting period before filing for divorce, with mandatory counseling. I bet domestic violence victims really love that. We could also talk about how you're making it harder and harder for people in college to vote. Sounds like you'd really just prefer if my generation not vote at all, and I wouldn't be surprised if you tried to pass legislation saying that very thing. I could bring up how you're trying to ban coed apartments on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, because we know a coed dorm equals a bastion of sin. Or, not legislatively, the initial decision to hang the Confederate flag in the Capitol. That was a real classy move.
The damage you're inflicting right now will take years upon years to recover from. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it'll be to overturn the nonsense you're proposing when we actually have some people in Raleigh who are putting the citizens of the state first.
North Carolina is quickly becoming a national laughingstock, on par with some of the more, shall we say "backwards" states in our union. Friends in D.C. often greet me with, "What the hell is going on down in your home state?" I'm getting awfully tired of trying to defend the state as a whole by writing those in the legislature in Raleigh off as ideologues. It is getting harder and harder to do so.
In this "race to the bottom" my only hope is your utter disregard for what is good and right in the state helps bring people together to voice their outrage over what you're doing. So when the time comes we're mobilized to take our state back and out of the hands of the likes of all of you.
I know I'll be ready to take back the state I love dearly.
Sincerely,
Jamison Doran
Follow Jamison Doran on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jamdizzle |
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Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:59 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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North Carolina GOP wants to create state religion, says federal courts have no power to determine constitutionality of anything
By Eclectablog on April 4, 2013 in Republican-Fail, Republicans
Hey! There are crazier Republicans than Michigan Republicans!
NOTE: this post has been updated HERE.
This is absolutely incredible. Republicans in North Carolina have introduced legislation that will allow them to set up their own state religion and ignore all federal laws.
If you think I’m joking, read on.
Here’s the salient part of the legislation:
The Constitution of the United States does not grant the federal government and does not grant the federal courts the power to determine what is or is not constitutional; therefore, by virtue of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the power to determine constitutionality and the proper interpretation and proper application of the Constitution is reserved to the states and to the people. Each state in the union is sovereign and may independently determine how that state may make laws respecting an establishment of religion.
See there? The Constitution doesn’t allow the federal courts to determine what is constitutional. This is going to come as an incredible shock to … everyone with a brain. The whole thing came about over a fight about whether Christian-specific prayers can be read at government meetings so this is very clearly about North Carolina establishing a state religion based on Christianity. But the implications go much further than that, of course. It means they are immune from any federal determinations regarding the constitutionality of … anything.
I guess these guys are as clueless about the Supremacy Clause as our Michigan Republicans. Good luck with that, gang. |
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Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:19 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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North Carolina House Speaker kills legislation to create official state religion
By Eclectablog on April 5, 2013 in Republican-Fail, Republicans
Maybe someone read them the U.S. Constitution?
North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican, has ended any chance that a recent resolution that would pave the way to establishing an official state religion will see the light of day. Tillis said yesterday that he will not allow a vote on the resolution known as the “Defense of Religion Act”.
The bill was a response to an ACLU lawsuit regarding the reading of Christian prayers at official government functions. Sarah Preston, the policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, had this to say:
I would assume he (Tillis) didn’t like the attention it was getting, and it would distract from other issues that the House was working on. I hope that he decided that making a statement that North Carolina didn’t want to abide by the Constitution was the wrong thing for North Carolina to do.
Her colleague ACLU-NC Legal Director Chris Brook went further:
Despite the ACLU’s objections, and now a lawsuit, Commissioners have continued to pray in the name of Jesus.
“The bill sponsors fundamentally misunderstand constitutional law and the principles of the separation of powers that date back to the founding of this country,” ACLU-NC Legal Director Chris Brook told WBTV in response to the resolution.
That pesky U.S. Constitution. It gets in the way of overly evangelistic Christians ramming their religion down the throats of all Americans every time.
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Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:20 pm |
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