Link-of-the-Day – Page 42 – Democracy North Carolina

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Blue Cross of NC is the main backer of a bill to create the health insurance exchange in North Carolina that will help implement the national health reform law. The intent of an independent exchange is to give more people access to insurance coverage, boost competition and lower premium costs, somewhat akin to Travelocity for [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-04-19T17:15:06-04:00 April 19th, 2011|Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

Monday, April 18, 2011

E. J. Dionne reminds the wealthy elite that it is in their long-term interest, and a well-established American tradition, to temper greed with civic responsibility. “The influence of the ruling class comes from its position in the economy and its ability to pay for the politicians’ campaigns. . . . I am not using the [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:40-05:00 April 18th, 2011|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|1 Comment

Friday, April 15, 2011

With Tax Day 2011 almost here, Public Campaign has released a report called “The Artful Dodgers” about 12 well-known corporations that have spent $1 billion on lobbying and campaign donations to reduce their tax bills to nearly nothing. In several case (e.g., Exxon, Bank of America, Boeing and CitiGroup), the corporations paid ZERO taxes and [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:40-05:00 April 15th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|0 Comments

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Sweethearts of the Tea Party elected to Congress last November have quickly become water carriers for heavy duty lobbyists and special interests. And they are cashing in like the veterans. So much for their promises of integrity or changing the system; if anything, these guys are even deeper in the pocket of Wall Street and [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-04-13T20:28:17-04:00 April 13th, 2011|Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Lobbying, Money in Politics|0 Comments

Redistricting Update 4/12/2011

A coalition of advocacy groups spanning the political spectrum and a bipartisan group of state legislators held a press conference today to unveil their proposal (H-824) for North Carolina to adopt a nonpartisan redistricting commission similar to the one used for decades in Iowa. The press conference featured chief sponsors Rep. Rick Glazier and Rep. [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:41-05:00 April 12th, 2011|Link-of-the-Day, Redistricting|5 Comments

Monday, April 11, 2011

Day of Action: This Wednesday. After sending some mixed signals last week, Republican leaders waved off a possible compromise with Democrats on the photo ID bill. They’ve decided to line up with the Art Pope-financed advocacy groups and freshmen legislators who apparently hope requiring a government-issued ID will create enough confusion at the polls to [...]

By Bob Hall| 2011-04-11T09:51:15-04:00 April 11th, 2011|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights|8 Comments

Friday, April 8, 2011

The Center for Public Integrity has just released an in-depth investigative report on the sprawling, worldwide business operations of the Koch family, patrons of far-right groups descending from the John Birch Society. Ironically, brothers David and Charles Koch are happy to take government subsidies and spend millions to lobby for special tax breaks and protection [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:41-05:00 April 8th, 2011|Citizens United Case, Disclosure, Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|1 Comment

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The federal Fair Elections Now Act was introduced in Congress on Wednesday, followed by a press conference featuring actor Alec Baldwin calling for an alternative to politics dominated by special-interest fundraising. The bill provides a path for ordinary community leaders to become viable candidates and national policy makers, thanks to a program that matches small [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:41-05:00 April 7th, 2011|FENA, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics, Voter-Owned Elections|1 Comment

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Duke Energy is feeling heat from both sides of the political spectrum. The company wants to become the largest electric utility in the US, through a merger with Progress Energy, but conservatives want Duke CEO Jim Rogers fired. They don't like his support for regulating carbon emissions, his executive team's multiple ethical violations, and (probably [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:41-05:00 April 6th, 2011|Environmental Issues, Ethics, Link-of-the-Day, Money in Politics|1 Comment

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Republicans in Raleigh are reviving their push for a hard-line bill that would require voters to show a government-issued photo ID each time they vote. There was a brief moment where Republicans seemed to recognize that accepting a broader range of ID documents would be fine, but the zealots’ perspective has apparently prevailed: North Carolina [...]

By Bob Hall| 2017-01-03T12:05:41-05:00 April 5th, 2011|Civic Engagement, Link-of-the-Day, Voting Rights, Youth Vote|4 Comments