Link-of-the-Day – Page 23 – Democracy North Carolina

LOD: The Rogue LaRoque

A federal grand jury has indicted state legislator Rep. Stephen LaRoque (R-Kinston) on a variety of charges related to misusing federal funds received by two nonprofit lending outfits he created "to alleviate poverty and increase economic activity and employment in rural communities." The charges follow an investigative series by NC Policy Watch and include stealing $300,000 from the federal government, failing [...]

By gabe@democracy-nc.org| 2012-07-19T09:29:33-04:00 July 19th, 2012|Disclosure, Ethics, Link-of-the-Day|0 Comments

LOD: Lightning Bolts In Our Spirit

Check out this video of slam master Bluz of Charlotte rapping on more than you hear at first listen; it begins 1 minute into the video, after Robert Dawkin’s introduction. Thanks to the Democracy Summer team in Charlotte for hosting the “Shade of Democracy” event – a “fusion of art and activism.”

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:27-05:00 July 17th, 2012|Civic Engagement, Get Out the Vote, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights, Youth Vote|0 Comments

LOD: Sunshine Blocker

A new bill in the US Senate to increase disclosure of campaign money again uses the title DISCLOSE Act, but Democratic sponsors have watered it down from last year’s version in the hopes of winning enough Republican support for passage. One report says the Senate bill, S. 3369 “does not prohibit campaign spending by foreign [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:27-05:00 July 13th, 2012|Citizens United Case, Disclosure, Link-of-the-Day|1 Comment

LOD: Raleigh v. Big Money

The Citizens United decision allowed corporations to use money from their treasuries for candidate advocacy, not direct donations to candidates. Some argue the decision has not released a torrent of political spending by corporations, thinking narrowly of the Fortune 500. But they overlook the new use of corporate nonprofits (particularly secretive c-4s) as front groups [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-07-11T07:48:26-04:00 July 11th, 2012|Citizens United Case, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Pay to Play|0 Comments

LOD: No Photo ID for NC

One of the few positives that came with the adjournment of the General Assembly earlier this week was a negative: After months of trying, the Republican leadership had to admit it could not find enough votes to override Gov. Perdue’s veto of the harsh photo ID bill, H-351. (For background about the photo ID fight [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-07-05T21:31:03-04:00 July 5th, 2012|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|1 Comment

LOD: Selling Out

The NC General Assembly adjourned today and the impact of its final decisions will reverberate for years to come – from a conniving vote that legalizes fracking and energy exploration, to the disgraceful deal-making that sold out students, the Racial Justice Act and victims of sterilization, to a last-minute change in the final state budget that [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:27-05:00 July 3rd, 2012|Civic Engagement, Environmental Issues, Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Pay to Play, Uncategorized, Voting Rights|1 Comment

LOD: Update on Voter ID

Daily Kos has this update on what it calls the “War on Voting,” including a roundup of news from various states and video clips of Republican leaders using the issue for partisan gain. In one, the Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (Mike Turzai) boasts about his achievements for the year and declares, [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:27-05:00 July 2nd, 2012|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|0 Comments

LOD: Top-Down Voter Suppression

Editorial writers in Asheville, Wilmington, Raleigh, and other cities are rightly blasting the General Assembly’s leadership for eliminating $660,000 in the state funding that would have released $4.1 million in federal money for voting machines, poll workers, and Early Voting centers. Why give up a $7 return on a $1 investment? Word on the inside [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-06-27T07:32:52-04:00 June 27th, 2012|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights, Youth Vote|0 Comments

LOD: Most Competitive Districts

The NC Free Enterprise Foundation, a pro-business nonprofit that tracks political developments in the state, has produced two insightful documents that profile the most competitive contests for the NC House and NC Senate. The two reports also rank all the seats in each chamber for partisan competitiveness, revealing the overall tilt toward Republicans as a [...]

By Bob Hall| 2012-06-22T21:20:28-04:00 June 22nd, 2012|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Redistricting|0 Comments

LOD: Starving Fair Elections

From a release by Democracy North Carolina today: “Something very strange happened in the final version of the State Budget that House and Senate leaders rolled out yesterday. It eliminates provisions in earlier versions passed by the House and Senate to provide about $600,000 that would automatically release over $4 million in federal funds for improving [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:28-05:00 June 21st, 2012|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|1 Comment