Because of threats to water supplies, a proposed mining project in Texas faced tough odds for getting the necessary permits. But then cronyism and political money stepped in. Is this the story of how fracking will play out in NC, except with the help of a different party at a different level of government? Or [...]
Back in the mid-1990s, when oil companies were whining about cheap prices and low profits, Congress decided to waive the federal royalties to encourage new wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Now that oil profits are soaring and prices have jumped from under $12 to over $100 a barrel, do you think the oil companies [...]
If you think some of the shenanigans by heavyweights like Duke Energy and the NC General Assembly are beyond wacko, you’re not alone. Uncle Sam may have your back. The federal government has a way of slowing down implementation of many unethical practices, which should encourage you to speak up, too. In the case of Duke Energy, the [...]
Greenpeace looked at the campaign money Duke Energy and Progress Energy have donated to the legislative sponsors of the bill to immediately replace all the members of the Utilities Commission and several other regulatory boards with GOP appointee. Seven of the 12 sponsors and co-sponsors received a total of $147,000 from the two utilities in [...]
Something that easily folds into your pocket, that’s smaller than an envelope, that’s widely available but in scarce supply, that gets your attention – that’s what overcame reams of scientific data and stopped the oceans from rising. An astonishing miracle. We witnessed it here in North Carolina, and now a little noticed blog has tracked [...]
The Nation magazine has the definitive article about the impact of Citizens United on US elections – including the gusher flow of Middle East oil money through trade groups green-lighted by the Supreme Court’s political decision. The article is by Lee Fang, the writer who broke the story about the cabal of millionaires recruited to [...]
Here are two NC stories of groups setting out to exert power – one taking the hard road of community organizing and grassroots democracy, the other using their big-money connections to buy an election. The first story describes how and why Stokes County neighbors came together to wage an impressive campaign against the prospect of [...]
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 [...]
The Institute for Southern Studies/Facing South reveals the connection between toxic money pouring into NC politics and legislation to increase toxic chemicals pouring into our air. The article draws on a new analysis by Democracy North Carolina of the political muscle of 27 leading polluters and their trade groups. Hint: by themselves, they annually spend [...]
Two national stories with NC connections: One, from the Los Angeles Times, dissects the damnable lies spewed forth in political advertisements sponsored by Americans for Prosperity. It’s not an accident that the deceitful ads attack alternative energy production as well as President Obama; the biggest backers of AFP are oil and gas mega-billionaires David and [...]