The Seventh Sense

You Can't Unring A Wedding Bell

Note: I wrote this on Monday morning, May 7, convinced of a loss.  Probably 15 points, right?  Doesn't matter.  This I know to be true; that's why I wrote it.

As of this morning, there are an estimated 150,000 married same-sex couples in the United States.

They are not "civil-union"ed.  They are not in a "domestic partnership".  They are "married" in the legal, personal, and moral sense of the word.  Maybe God doesn't think they are "married", but nobody gets to vote on what God believes anyway.  The point is that these couple are definitionally married.

Think about that.  These are not abstract numbers -- these are actually couples, actually married.  They exist.  They breathe.  They move about, go to work, go home, raise families.  They are families.

Overseas, there are hundreds of thousands more married couples who are also same-sex.

And there will be many more hundreds of thousands -- millions even -- of married same-sex couples, in the years to come.   That's a fact, and no election outcome can change that.  

Re-define "marriage"?  You think Amendment One was about re-defining marriage?  Pssst.  That ship has sailed, Jack, and you just need to go to the nearest online dictionary to see for yourself.

We need to remind ourselves of a basic truth: you can't ban something that already exists in some form, outside your jurisdiction.  Wedding bells will continue to ring for gay couples.  Sure, as a state, we can refuse to recognize those bells, but that is all that North Carolina has done.  It has put its head in the proverbial sand.  It hasn't made anything go away, and done very little to stave off the inevitable. 

So ask yourself:  How long can North Carolina, or any state, hold out while other states and other countries keep on marrying people of the same sex... and those people move... and then raise children of their own... and those children move?  Ten years?  A generation?

You see, there is a natural arc of progress.  We don't see it sometimes, with the 24 hour news cycle, the 4 year election cycle, or the decade-to-decade cycle.  But there is a natural arc of progress, and mankind moves forward.  Fifty years ago -- in my lifetime -- Ann Dunham and Barack Obama, Sr. could not have been married in this state, or most states in the Union.  Today, their son is the President of the United States, and 15% of all new marriages are interracial.  It may take longer than we wish, but we should never forget that the direction we move is always forward toward equality and freedom, toward the promises that our forefathers guaranteed us.

Those who wish to shape society in accord with their faith and moral compass -- I'm talking primarily about the religious right as well as the religiously self-righteous... they never win in the long run.  The history of their own religions are filled with their own dogmatic and controlling failures.  God's soldiers return to the fold, cowed, while their church leaders issue a reformation (although by then, most of the religious followers know better).

Even prominent social conservatives (save Maggie Gallagher) realize that the day is coming and the same-sex marriage fight is one they will ultimately lose.

So rather than mourn today's political loss, let us pause and mark this time in history, and reflect on the interesting times we live in.  Our grandchildren and their children will scarcely believe that our generation could be so wantonly and overtly bigoted against the relationships of same-sex couples -- and yes, that is to our collective shame.  

But for those of us who voted "No", and who can see the arc of history spread out beyond our own mortality, let us smile at the knowledge that ultimately, love and justice wins.  It always has.  Ultimately.  Because that IS God.

Amendment One Poised to Win

No change in polling over the weekend.  It's likely to win only because people don't understand it, according to PPP:

Our final marriage amendment poll finds it leading by a 55-39 margin, little change from a week ago when it was ahead 55-41. The final yes percentage will likely be somewhere in the 57-59% range depending on how the undecideds break. Opponents of the amendment had an uphill battle in convincing voters that it was anything other than a referendum on gay marriage, even though it does go a lot further than that. 57% of voters in the state think gay marriage should be illegal (to only 34% who think it should be legal) and it's not a coincidence that number correlates so closely with the 55% planning to support the amendment. 

In some sense North Carolinians are voting against their own beliefs. 53% of voters in the state support either gay marriage or civil unions, yet a majority also support the amendment that would ban both. The reason for that disconnect is even with just 24 hours until election day only 46% of voters realize the proposal bans both gay marriage and civil unions. Those informed voters oppose the amendment by a 61-37 margin but there may not be enough time left to get the rest of the electorate up to speed.

Emphasis mine.

North Carolina Is Now Birther Central

ThinkProgress:

North Carolina is apparently ground zero of the latest resurgence of the birther movement, as a number of Republican candidates in the state are expressing doubts about President Obama’s birthplace.

ThinkProgress has previously noted that Richard Hudson, running for a congressional seat in the state’s 8th district, said Obama is “hiding something on his citizenship,” while the Charlotte Observer rescinded its endorsement of Jim Pendergraph, running in the 9th district, after he expressed his own doubts about Obama’s birth certificate.

Now, the Observer reports that Dr. John Whitley, one of Hudson’s opponents in tomorrow’s GOP primary, has also gone birther. He declared Obama’s birth certificate a “poorly reproduced forgery” after comparing it to the Hawaiian birth certificate of one of his campaign workers. “There is a tremendous amount of smoke here,” Whitley said. “In fact, it’s called a smoke screen.”

Meanwhile, Ilario Pantano, running the 7th district, also has “real questions” about Obama’s birthplace. “The way I see this is whether he was born on the moon or Nicaragua or Honolulu, the bottom line is he has to be defeated in November,” Pantano said.

State Senator's Wife: Amendment One Is Needed Because The Caucasion Race Is Diminishing

Holy crap!

I won't say much because the "state senator" works in the same law firm as me, but the gist is that the senator's wife.... oh, hell.  Roll it, Think Progress:

The wife of a prominent North Carolina state senatorand supporter of Amendment 1 — a proposed ballot initiative that would outlaw same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in the state — claimed earlier this week that her husband advocated for the measure to protect the “Caucasian” race.

Jodie Brunstetter, the wife of North Carolina state Sen. Peter Brunstetter, made the remarks “outside the early voting site at the Forsyth County Government Center in downtown Winston-Salem” while speaking to voters, Chad Nance, a Winston-Salem freelance journalist, reports. Nance heard about Jodie’s comments from an African-American poll worker who allegedly overheard Brunstetter say, “The reason my husband wrote Amendment 1 was because the Caucasian race is diminishing and we need to uh, reproduce.”

Asked to clarify her statement, Brunstetter reluctantly confirmed that she did in fact use the phrase “Caucasian”:

BRUNSTETTER: [P]eople who founded the United states wrote a Constitution and it has been what has preserved this society. And we were just talking about lots of different things which the gentleman was turning around.

NANCE: You didn’t tell that one lady that it was to preserve the Caucasian race, because they were becoming a minority? That’s what an old lady down the block told us.

BRUNSTETTER: No, no.

NANCE: You didn’t say that? She’s lying?

BRUNSTETTER: No. It’s just that same sex marriages are not having children. [...]

NANCE: You didn’t say anything about Caucasians?

BRUNSTETTER: I probably said the word.

NANCE: In reference to….? You didn’t tell her anything about Caucasians? …

BRUNSTETTER: Right now I am a little confused myself because there has been confusion here today about this amendment, where it is very simple. The opponents are saying things that are not true and so there has been a lot of conversation going back and forth…. Right now I have some heat stroke going on. I’m not quite sure now. Because there has been lots of confusion.

NANCE: So you did or did not say anything about Caucasians?

BRUNSTETTER: If I did it wasn’t anything race related.

Watch it:

 

Responding to his wife’s comments, Sen. Brunstetter told ThinkProgress, “I know my wife does not think like that,” but admitted that “She got very flustered (she is not a political person) and then someone came up to her and started shooting questions at her. She noticed later that there was someone video taping without her knowledge.”

“My wife is one of the sweetest, most genuine people you will ever meet,” he added. “Her convictions on the marriage amendment are spiritual in nature, not racial. The individual in question had been quite abusive and intimidating. The Amendment is not racially motivated, is quite simple and straightforward and, in fact, is widely supported in many areas of the African American community.”

Jodie told the Winston-Salem Journal, “I seriously don’t remember.” “There was quite a bit of conversation … the reasons for the amendment is for there to be marriage between a man and a woman and it does not matter what race.”

Amendment 1, which goes to a vote on May 8, has already divided the African American community between leaders who argue that the Bible prohibits homosexual behavior and those who maintain that religious interpretations should not influence civil laws. The comments by Mrs. Brunstetter will likely interject more racial division into the debate.

For ThinkProgress’ full coverage of Amendment 1, click here.

The local news is covering this:

 

Meanwhile, we have a pastor urging his congregation to beat their gay kids into submission:

"So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, “Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,” you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.

Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting to Butch you reign her in. And you say, “Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.”

You say, “Can I take charge like that as a parent?” Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that."

The pastor now regrets his words, saying he was making a joke.  But it wasn't.  You can tell.  When you say a joke, you give the "punchline" and move on.  You don't reiterate it several times. Listen to the audio. 

 

As You Might Suspect, Amendment One Proponents Are Funded By Religious Right And Anit-Gay Groups

Jeremy Hooper points out that almost all of the top donors supporting North Carolina’s discriminatory Amendment One, which limits what relationships the state can recognize, are from radically conservative religiously-affiliated groups. It’s true that opponents of the measure have raised twice as much money, but it’s telling that they have raised four times as much money from individual donors. Over 70 percent of Vote FOR Marriage NC’s campaign fundraising has comes from Religious Right institutional support. By contrast, about 62 percent of Protect All NC Families’ fundraising has come from individual donors.

Joe Jervis notes that Phil Drake, the third’s most generous donor, owns a conservative Christian radio station and bookstore. AMDG Medical is not a religious organization, but it is known to have Catholic ties in its other giving. And the National Organization for Marriage is religious in everything but name, run almost entirely by Catholic Right figures with daily blog posts defending against “attacks” on Christianity. The American Family Association makes no effort to downplay its radically conservative, anti-LGBT religious mission.

 

Amendment One Polls

The latest poll from PPP shows no movement from one week ago, meaning that FOR Amendment One is ahead of AGAINST Amendment One by 14 points:

Opposition is rising slightly with Republicans, independents, and African Americans, from 17% to 21% with the GOP, from 43% to 46% with independents, and from 39% to 43% with black voters.  Democrats on the whole are opposed by a 54-42 spread.  Reports of strong youth turnout in parts of the state could be a good sign for opponents; voters under the age of 30 oppose the amendment by 26 points, while the elder age brackets all support it by spreads of nine to 24 points—though that is down from margins of 16 to 32 points last week.

The good news for the amendment’s opponents is that more voters are now aware of the amendment’s consequences, and if all voters were informed of those consequences, the amendment would fail by a 38-46 margin, the same as last week.  A 40% plurality now knows that the amendment would ban both same-sex marriage and civil unions, versus 36% in the previous survey.  Those who know what the amendment would do are against it by 22 points, but they are outweighed by the strong support from the uneducated.

As part of the overall 22-point shift, Democrats move 21 points, Republicans 24 points, and independents 16 points against the amendment when told it would ban both marriage and civil unions for gay couples.

The reason this message has an impact is that 55% of these primary voters want same-sex couples to at least have the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples, if not full marriage equality.  That includes 67% of Democrats, 60% of independents, and even 35% of Republicans.

“Voters who understand what the amendment does are opposed to it,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But there’s a lot of education left to be done in this final week of the campaign.”

PPP surveyed 982 likely North Carolina primary voters from April 27^th to 29^th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.1%.  This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization.

 

Amendment One Sign Wars

Like California's Proposition 8, the Amendment One measure in North Carolina would amend the state constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman — but it would also ban gay civil unions and domestic partnerships.

On my way in to work, I count the number of AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE signs on peoples' lawns, compared to the number of FOR AMENDMENT ONE signs.  My journey (for those familiar with Winston-Salem) is along Robin Hood Road.

Last week, there were virtually no FOR AMENDMENT ONE signs, and around 12 AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE signs... including 3 in front of churches/religious institutions.  Pretty sweet.

This week, there was a change.  About 11 AMENDMENT ONE signs and 3 FOR AMENDMENT ONE.  Most notably however, a huge AGAINST banner (in front of the Unitarian Church) was gone.  Instead, there was a spray-painted sheet where the banner once was.  Placed there by the church, it reads: "Why steal our banner?" [UPDATE:  The banner is now replaced, I'm told by a UU attendee]

It's sad but true.  That's the mentality of bigots.  Stealing of property means nothing to them in their quest for keeping up (irony alert) moral values.

Here's another example of NC bigotry, on full display for all....

 

ter·ror·ism /ˈterəˌrizəm/ Noun: The use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

How is this not terrorism?

And it gets worse.  Who (besides the redneck above) is doing the sign stealing?  Apparently, families are.

The impact of signs was brought home to me again recently. I got a call one evening about 10 days ago from a friend of mine from church who said that he had witnessed someone stealing "Vote Against Amendment One" signs on Morganton Road.

Stealing political yard signs is nothing new. I was a volunteer for the Obama campaign in 2008, and our signs were either prized possessions or prime targets, depending on one's perspective. People were stealing them left and right.

Likewise, a local resident who feels strongly about this issue bought and distributed 250 of the Carolina blue "Vote Against" signs. By last Friday, all but 26 of them were missing. It speaks to the worst of human nature. But sadly, it's to be expected.

Still, there's something a little different about these signs because they're not about candidates. The effects of the amendment they address will have a much more direct impact on people's lives, gay and straight, than the election of any one particular candidate. As I drove down Morganton Road the morning after my friend called and the familiar signs were gone, I was filled with an anxiety that I never felt when candidate signs went missing.

The stealing of the signs sends a very inhospitable message in an area that depends in large part upon its hospitality. It makes us look narrow-minded, backward and mean-spirited.

Serious action by the local authorities might go a long way toward countering that perception.

Last Sunday, another friend of mine at church explained what it meant to him, personally, as a gay man. It says to gay people that they don't deserve equal protection under the law and that they are unworthy of the 1,300 rights and protections afforded to heterosexual couples when they marry.

It says that gay people are not welcome here and that as long as the people stealing the signs draw breath, he would always be a second-class citizen in their eyes.

The most disturbing part of what the friend who called me witnessed was that the people he saw stealing the signs were not alone. They had two younger people, presumably their children, with them.

They were in effect teaching their children, by example, that not only was it acceptable to discriminate against people who are different from you, but it is equally acceptable to commit petty larceny to deny them their First Amendment rights. It is an example so gravely misguided as to border on child abuse.

Emphasis mine.

Think about this.... they are concerned about protecting the family... so they teach their kids to STEAL?

Bigotry On The Ballot

NYT editors weigh in on Amendment One:

North Carolina already has a law barring same-sex marriage, but the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature is not satisfied. It devised a measure to enshrine this obvious discrimination in the State Constitution and placed it on the ballot of the state’s May 8 primary election — a test of tolerance versus bigotry that ought to be watched closely nationwide.

In their zeal, lawmakers got careless with the wording of the measure, known as Amendment One. It would constitutionally prohibit recognition not just of same-sex marriages, but of other legal arrangements like civil unions and domestic partnerships. That could harm all unmarried couples, imperiling some children’s health insurance benefits, along with child custody arrangements and safeguards against domestic violence.

The campaign against the amendment is being spearheaded by a coalition of civic, religious, business and civil rights leaders and groups. One of Amendment One’s most vocal opponents is the Rev. William Barber II, president of the state chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. Mr. Barber draws a strong link between the proposed amendment and struggles against racial unfairness, an appeal with special resonance following the publication in March of memos from the National Organization for Marriage, one the most prominent groups fighting same-sex marriage, about driving “a wedge between gays and blacks.”

Polls suggest that defeating this measure remains an uphill struggle, but at least its approval is no longer an entirely foregone conclusion. Much will depend on turnout, especially by voters on college campuses, who will need to vote in larger-than-usual numbers to defeat this declaration of officially sanctioned discrimination.

The North Carolina vote is one of several statewide ballot fights over same-sex marriage the nation will see this year. But public opinion continues to move steadily toward marriage equality. In 2001, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by a margin of 57 percent to 35 percent. Today, 47 percent are in favor and 43 percent opposed, according to a new Pew Research poll.

Opponents of marriage equality have never been able to show any evidence that any harm is caused to heterosexual marriages by granting all American adults the right to marry as they choose — because there is no such evidence. With little more than a week to go before the May 8 contest, and early voting already under way, North Carolinians need to consider whether they really want to inflict this gratuitous bigotry on their fellow citizens and their children.

 

Yes On Amendment One Still Ahead, But Weaker

A new Public Policy Polling poll shows that support for North Carolina’s discriminatory Amendment One continues to fall, standing now at 54 percent down from 58 percent a month ago. Opposition is also at its highest at 40 percent, but many voters are still confused about just what the Amendment does, with 10 percent believing it actually legalizes same-sex marriage instead of banning all same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partners

Newt Gingrich Speaks Out For Amendment One

Transcript:

Blah blah blah Saul Alinsky blah blah blah Preamble to the Declaration of Independence says the Creator hates gay people blah blah blah guns are great for defending the home blah blah blah blah blah Marriage between a man and a woman is at the heart of our civilization. It’s a belief that is now under attack, yet it’s at the very core of defining who we are. That’s why I urge you to vote for the initiative right here in North Carolina. The chance to vote for a referendum to declare clearly that marriage is between a man and a woman.

This is part of the same great process this year that’s involved with President Obama, and that’s involved with the whole danger of what’s happening to our basic beliefs. There’s an effort by radicals at every level to change who we are, to change what America is and to change for our children into a future that I think will be much worse.

This is your chance to turn out and vote and vote for preserving America, and to vote for preserving a very basic institution.

 

Thank you, Newt, great defender of man-woman marriages*

* at least until the woman gets sick, and then he goes off and marries his mistress.

Obama Needs More Backbone

Obama is in North Carolina again today.  He's speaking at UNC to talk about college loans....

But President Obama is not expected to touch the subject when he appears in Chapel Hill on Tuesday — even though it is roiling the electorate there.... His delicate sidestep of Amendment One, a ballot initiative to be decided May 8 that would recognize marriage between a man and a woman as the only legal domestic partnership in North Carolina, is seen by some as another sign that he is not fully committed to gay rights — an interpretation that could dampen the enthusiasm of the young voters he is trying to court.

I get that the White House wants to stay on message and talk about the economy rather than gay stuff.  But he's really turning off some elements of his consituency -- which he needs desparately.  North Carolina is a key swing state, which Obama barely won 4 years ago, and it really shouldn't hurt him if he throws a nod toward, you know, civil rights.

The Future Is Here, Rose

From today's Letters To The Editor of the Winston-Salem Journal (emphasis added):

The civil-rights argument for gay marriage is a smokescreen ("Same-sex marriage a civil-rights issue, Barber says," April 18). Gay marriage has nothing whatsoever to do with civil rights. Does anyone really believe if the "marriage amendment" is defeated on May 8, we will not soon see gay marriage enshrined in North Carolina? Is the Winston-Salem Journal ready to print photos of two men or two women in the wedding and engagement section? If you don't think this happens, take a look at The New York Times' social pages.

How many voters will see through the civil-rights ruse? How many will rise above this intimidation and vote for traditional marriage on May 8?

---

ROSE M. WALSH
Lewisville

The Journal already accepts same-sex engagement and wedding announcements.

- Publisher Jeffrey Green

 

A 15-Year-Old Interviews Church Members About Amendment One

More like this please:

 

This is from 15-year-old, Carter Smith, interviewing people in his (her - Sorry, Dad) church.

We need to get on the air with commercials featuring the voices of people who oppose Amendment One. They are needed to educate voters about the harms and impact of the amendment — and the latest PPP poll suggests  many voters do not know what the ballot initiative means, but when told,  42% oppose the amendment.

Conservatives Against Amendment One

Lots of them....

Will Amendment One Lose?

It might:

Elon, N.C. – A new Elon University Poll released today shows that a majority of North Carolinians oppose Amendment One, a constitutional amendment on the May 8, 2012, North Carolina primary ballot that bans relationship recognitions and threatens protections for the state’s unmarried couples.

The nonpartisan poll revealed that 54.2% of North Carolinians surveyed either oppose or strongly oppose “an amendment to the constitution that would ban same-sex marriage.” Only 37.8% polled were in any way supportive of Amendment One. The poll also illustrates a dramatic increase in the category of “strong opposition” to this type of amendment from only one year ago, with 34% now voicing strong opposition versus 21.8% in February 2011.

Overall opposition to Amendment One increased even further when North Carolinians polled were asked whether they opposed an amendment to the North Carolina constitution “that would prevent civil unions and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.” Nearly 57% of North Carolinians (56.9%) polled opposed or strongly opposed an amendment on that basis.

“The Elon University poll is a clear sign that North Carolina is AGAINST Amendment One,” said Jeremy Kennedy, campaign manager for Protect All NC Families, the coalition effort to defeat Amendment One. “The more people learn about this poorly-written amendment and its unintended consequences, the more they realize it will harm our children, their families, unmarried women, and seniors.”

The Elon poll did not inquire about Amendment One support or opposition based on unintended harms to all unmarried couples in North Carolina, including a permanent ban on domestic partner benefits for public employees, as well as how it could negatively affect enforcement of domestic violence laws, child custody agreements and end-of-life directives. A recent state panel tasked with explaining Amendment One to voters found that there is significant debate among legal experts about how the amendment might impact various legal protections for public and private employee benefits as well as other harms. The panel ultimately concluded that the state’s court system would need to determine Amendment One’s lasting consequences.

“While the Elon Poll does not touch on the vast array of known and potential harms of this type of overreaching legislation—harms that were a reality in other states—it does mirror the momentum we’ve seen in our work on the ground throughout the state,” said Kennedy. The more North Carolinians know about Amendment One, the more support for it plummets.”

UPDATE -- President Obama comes out against Amendment One:

President Barack Obama today came out against the proposed constitutional amendment on North Carolina's May 8th ballot banning same sex marriages and civil unions, weighing into a fight in a key battleground state.

His campaign issued a statement saying the amendment was discriminatory.

“While the president does not  weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples,” said Cameron French, his North Carolina campaign spokesman.

“That’s what the North Carolina ballot initiative would do – it would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples – and that’s why the President does not support it.”  

 

Greensboro Joins List of NC Communities Opposed To Amendment 1

In an 8-1 vote, the City Council of Greensboro, North Carolina approved a resolution opposing a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban any legal recognition of same-sex couples. Greensboro joins Raleigh and Chapel Hill all in opposition to Amendment 1, which comes to a vote on May 8. Watch a report on the resolution from WFMY News.

U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Forsyth County Prayer Case

Good local First Amendment news:

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a North Carolina county commission over the mostly Christian prayers offered at the beginning of its public meetings.

The justices on Tuesday left in place a federal appeals court ruling that held that the predominantly Christian prayers at the start of Forsyth County commission meetings violated the First Amendment's prohibition on government endorsement of a particular religion.

The commission said its doors have long been open to religious leaders of many faiths. But the appeals court in Richmond, Va., found that more than three-quarters of the 33 invocations given before meetings between May 2007 and December 2008 referred to "Jesus," "Jesus Christ," "Christ" or "Savior."

Here's the lower court opinion from last year (PDF) saying that Forsyth County's mostly-Christian prayers are unconstitutional.

NC Official Resigns In Protest of Marriage Amendment

Harnett County Director of Elections Sherre Toler has forcefully resigned so as to avoid having to facilitate North Carolina’s discriminatory marriage inequality amendment in May. In a letter of protest, Toler compared voting on same-sex marriage to voting on interracial marriage and announced she would be forming a political consulting business to “defeat the effort to write discrimination into the North Carolina Constitution.”

Pam Spaulding interviewed Toler about her decision. She explained her goals moving forward and also how she sees the amendment as discrimination:

TOLER: Discrimination is discrimination in whatever form it takes. The Supreme Court acknowledged in the Loving case that the “freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State” Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967). The same constitutional provisions that led the Court to that decision most certainly apply to the “freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of [the same gender] resides with the individual…” We cannot allow the civil rights of a minority group to be put to the vote of a majority.

 Yup.

$50,000 To Victims Of North Carolina Eugenics Program

That's right.  North Carolina had an eugenics program which sterilized an estimated 7,600 people between 1929 and 1974, many of them against their will.  It was carried out by individuals, nonprofit organizations and the state government that felt that human reproduction should be controlled.  Social workers and the like could petition for the court-ordered sterilization of people who had epilepsy, sickness, “feeblemindedness” and other disabilities.  It is believed that 2,944 victims of North Carolina's sterilization program may be living as of 2010.

Other states had eugenics programs in the past, which focused on criminals and mentally ill people.  North Carolina's was much worse in that (1) it went on for decades after all the other states stopped doing it and (2) it extended to healthy women and children who were often poor and uneducated. Mothers were pushed or tricked into signing release forms for their young daughters to undergo the sterilization operation under threat of losing state-provided aid or custody.

Yes, it disproportionately disfavored African-American women.

And now, a five-member task force designed to compensate victims of the eugenics program have come out with their recommendation: $50,000 per victim.

That amount adds insult to injury in my view.

Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment In North Carolina: Looks Bad For Marriage Equality

The first poll on North Carolina's efforts to put a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is out, and it looks bad for equality fans.  According to the poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, if the vote were held today, the amendment would pass with 61 percent of the vote and only 34 percent opposing. Even Democrats support the measure (49/44), though at a narrower margin than independents (52/43) and Republicans (80/17). But as PPP points out, the voters likely do not realize the full effect of the amendment:

The interesting thing is that 51% of this same set of voters supports legal recognition for gay couples. 22% favor gay marriage and another 29% civil unions, with only 46% completely opposed to granting same sex couples legal recognition.  The problem for those trying to defeat the amendment is that 37% of voters who support gay marriage or civil unions are still planning to vote for it.  That suggests a lot of folks aren’t familiar with how wide reaching the proposed amendment would be and it gives those fighting it a chance- they just have to get their message out effectively to the majority of North Carolinians who do support legal recognition for gay couples that the proposal goes too far.

The key is language. This 61/34 result comes from asking about “defining marriage as between a man and a woman.” When PPP polled about prohibiting all forms of union last months, the numbers flip and 55 percent oppose the amendment. The huge difference between these simple language changes suggests how contentious the campaign will be until the vote in May.

Equality North Carolina offers a guide to the amendment with eight “truths” about the harm it will cause the state. The full breakdown of this poll can be found here.

And The Anti-Gay Amendment Passes The NC Senate

Predictably.

But North Carolina state senator Doug Berger (D) got in some good words.  He compared the state’s proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage to Nazi Germany during this afternoon’s debate. “I believe that if we pass this motion to concur, we are essentially putting a pink triangle into our state constitution,” he warned:

BERGER: In Nazi Germany, some of you may not realize that Adolf Hitler came to power through the ballot box and even though he was elected by the people, he was able to use the instruments of power to take away the rights of individuals….[I]f you were gay, you were required to wear a pink triangle to single that you were a member of that despised group. Now, I believe that if we pass this motion to concur, we are essentially putting a pink triangle into our state constitution.

Watch:

 

But the bill passed anyway, 30-16, and now will be on the May ballot.

With 10.1% Unemployment In North Carolina, The NC Assembly Gets To Work

From the AP:

Ten House Democrats voted with nearly all Republicans in favoring of putting on May’s primary ballot a question that would make marriage the only domestic legal union recognized in this state. The bill passed 75-42 — above the 72 needed for any constitutional change — and is now headed for debate Tuesday in the Senate. A similar three-fifths majority would be needed.

Although 30 states have gay marriage bans in their constitutions, North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast without such a marriage limit there. State law already defines marriage between a man and a woman, but amendment supporters argue traditional marriage would be better protected against potential legal challenges by same-sex couples married in six other states and the District of Columbia.

Yup.  North Carolina already defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but now gay-bashers want it in the North Carolina Constitution.

Hopefully, the Senate will reject this.  And if they don't, hopefully the people of North Carolina will reject the measure.

 

Supporters of Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment in NC Use Lock And Key To Show How Marriages Are Consummated

House Speaker Pro Tem Dale Folwell (R) held a press yesterday alongside ultra-conservative ministers who argued against civil marriage by maintaining that homosexuality is prohibited in the Bible.  One of those ministers, Rev. Johnny Hunter, said that sexual acts between two people of the same gender are “immoral and unnatural.”  Using a lock and key, Hunter explained that only heterosexual acts allow a marriage to be properly “consummated.”

 

So I guess you can't get married in North Carolina if you don't or can't have a proper "lock" and "key"

*Facepalm*

 

Marriage Amendment in NC

The elected proponents of bigotry are pushing for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which they hope advances at a special legislative session on September 12.  Via Equality NC, we learn that the measure does not have the support of the people:

Fifty-six percent (56%) of North Carolina voters oppose or strongly oppose an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, a five-point jump in the last two years, according to a February 2011 Elon University Poll, a non-partisan polling service.

The poll also showed a strong majority (57%) of North Carolinians support marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, revealing a dramatic 9% increase in public support for marriage equality in only two years. This result mirrors two separate polls conducted by Public Policy Polling in March and July that also reveal majority support of legal recognitions for same-sex couples.

“Over the past year, Equality North Carolina has had thousands of conversations with citizens from across the state of every age, race and background who oppose this discriminatory legislation and the harm it would cause to LGBT North Carolinans, our economy and our state’s reputation,” said Alex Miller, interim executive director at Equality NC. “These polls reflect these findings and track with national data that suggests the appetite for constitutional bans of same-sex marriage is waning. When our legislators push this anti-gay marriage amendment, they do so without the approval of the majority of the citizens of our state.”

It's not going to stop the GOP from moving on this.  But it's pleasant reminder how North Carolina, which went for Obama in '08, isn't as backwater as some of its neighbors.

North Carolina To Possibly Consider Making Bigotry The Law This Week

North Carolina lawmakers might consider a state constitutional amendment that would ban all “recognition of same-sex marriages, civil unions, domestic partnerships and other public and private arrangements for same-sex couples” as early as Thursday, when legislators consider several unrelated measures:

Their session rules allow them to consider only those and certain other topics, but, on Tuesday, Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) filed an adjournment resolution that would allow the legislature to quickly adjourn on Wednesday and reconvene on Thursday. The new session would allow for consideration of constitutional amendments. [...]

There’s been no serious indication the anti-LGBT bills will be heard on Thursday, but statewide advocacy group Equality North Carolina emailed their supporters Tuesday evening and urged them to contact their legislators. The group has also issued a call for volunteers to help them staff phone banking efforts today.

A special fall session on constitutional amendments could still be in the works. Tillis told reporters Tuesday that heintends to return and hear amendments that don’t make the cut Thursday. In June, Tillis told Asheville’s Citizen-Times that the anti-LGBT amendments would “definitely be brought up in a special fall session.”

North Carolina is “the last remaining state in the Southeast without a constitutional amendment banning recognition of same-sex relationships” and the New York Times’ Nate Silver has projected that the measure “would be a heavy favorite to pass.”

Verizon 4G Is Here

Greensboro, NC -- Verizon Wireless turned on their 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network Thursday in the Triad.

The change will impact several areas in North Carolina and more than 100 cities across the nation.

Verizon said the services are up to 10 times faster than their current 3G network.

The service is only available for 4G capable phones, which currently include three smartphones, a tablet, two hotspots and three USB modems.

All 4G capable devices can access the new system Thursday morning without a update or additional step.

 

Verizon 4G Coming To Triad Sooner Than Expected

GREENSBORO N.C. (WGHP)— 

Verizonannounced on Tuesday it will turn on its 4G LTE network in Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point on July 21.

4G mobile service gives consumers service up to 10 times faster than a 3G network. The company expects average data rates in real-world, loaded network environments to be 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.

The 4G technology also will improve coverage strength inside buildings, as it runs on a powerful 700 megahertz wireless frequency.

The deployment provides 4G coverage throughout the surrounding areas of Cooleemee, Mocksville, Lexington, Welcome, Bermuda Run, Clemmons, Lewisville, Bethania, Rural Hall, Tobaccoville, King, Walkertown, Kernersville, Stokesdale, Oak Ridge, Summerfield, McLeansville, Whitsett, Sedalia,Jamestown, Archdale, Thomasville, Trinity, Randleman, Forest Oaks, Pleasant Garden, Liberty, Franklinville, Asheboro and Ramseur.

The Review Is In....

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Play is good-hearted fun

By LYNN FELDER

"Duck Hunter Shoots Angel," which opened Friday night at Twin City Stage, follows the misadventures of a couple of good old boys who think they've shot an angel and a tabloid journalist from "up North" as they search for meaning and redemption in an Alabama swamp.

Along the way, we meet a half-man, half-gator; a smart girl who runs the local Gasmart; a mysterious woman; and a corrupt tabloid-newspaper publisher.

The journalist, Sandy, played with disillusioned charm by Don Gunther, sums up his philosophy this way: "Life is about stumbling from one mistake to the other … and then you die." He is schooled along the way by the bumbling duck hunters — Duane (Ken Ashford), his brother Duwell (Chad Edwards) — and a couple of earth angels — Kansas (Katlyn Swanson) who runs the Gasmart and Woman (Laurel Ullman), the love he sacrificed to his ambition.

Rudy Anderson as Lenny, Sandy's photographer side-kick, is quite good, lending some naturalism in his acting to the frequently farcical proceedings.

Ashford and Edwards are often hilarious with their endless stream of malapropisms; at one point of extreme stress, Ashford's Duane declares that he's about to have "a corollary."

The Southern characters have Southern accents, but Gunther and Zach Hall, who plays the "Weekly World and Globe" publisher, Lester, use neutral accents.

In a script that constantly compares the North and the South and makes good-hearted fun of both, some actual Northern accents would have created more contrast and more humor.

The set by Larry Hurych is functional and effective with smooth scene changes and a great, murky swamp. The lighting by Daniel Alvarez supports the action nicely, particularly in the scenes that suggest the angel's presence.

This Side Of The Tracks

This is the arrest record from just one local trailer park this past weekend:

Rakem Deshawn Chambers, 23, was charged with driving while impaired. Albert Barron Kimber, 24, and Cyvonne Lachelle Hooper, 26, were charged with being drunk and disruptive and resisting arrest. Dawanna Creed Jackson, 25, was charged with disorderly conduct. Miguel Mendez Oliva, 31, was charged with assault on a female. Amanda Marie Whitaker, 27, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Michael Tony Jackson, 53, Shaun Raymond Clemins, 32, and Gilardo Reyes, 30, were cited for noise violations.

That's Holcomb's Mobile Home Park in Yadkin County, NC, friends.

Oh, yeah. The dog bite victim, LaChelle Kimber, 34, of Advance, was taken to the hospital for treatment, police said. The pit bull dog is currently quarantined by the Yadkin County Animal Control.

Yeah, THAT'LL Work!

Waste of money:

An advertisement for Winston-Salem will soon be in the advertising center of the U.S. -- Times Square.

The billboard in the Big Apple will entice people to visit Winston-Salem for a weekend trip to experience a different kind of city.

The five-second add will run 120 times, with a potential viewing audience of more than one million people.

The ad will run from April 11 to 17.

The advertising was funded by visitwinstonsalem.com. 

 

 

More Japan Earthquake Facepalm

Reportedly, this weekend at a Watauga County Republican Party convention, our own Senator Virginia Foxx had this to say about the Japan earthquake and tsunami:

It is a sign that God is still in charge.

Yeah.  Right.

It has nothing to do with fault lines and shifting tectonic plates.

It was God.  He looked down at us and thought to Himself, "Hmmmm.  I think I'll make my presence known.  Because they all look so complacent down there.  Gotta exert my authorit-tay.  Gotta show 'em who's the boss.  I suppose I could miraculously cure some disease overnight.... Nah!  I think I'll smite Japan with a devestating earthquake.  Yeah.  That'll show 'em!!"

Good, Because I Have A Few Things I Want To Say To Him

WXII:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- In his first visit to the Triad since becoming president in 2008, Barack Obama will visit Winston-Salem on Monday. 

Sources confirmed to WXII that the president will be attending an event at the west campus of Forsyth Technical Community College on Bolton Street. 

Details about the visit weren't immediately available. 

The source said White House officials were in town already to prepare for the visit. 

Obama was last in Winston-Salem during his presidential campaign.

 

Movie Premiere

Well, my movie premiers tonight, and when I say "my" movie, I mean (of course) the movie in which I may make a brief appearance assuming that I don't end up on the cutting room floor.

It's called "Hellphone" and the premiere takes place at the Carousel Theatre on Battleground Avenue at 6:30pm in Greensboro, with the film commencing at 7:30.  Then there's the after-party at 9:30pm, Vintage 301, 301 MLK Jr. Drive, downtown Greensboro, but I just canNOT deal with the paparazzi tonight.

"Hellphone" is a movie wherein a demonic cell phone wreaks havoc on a small Southern town, and only the rag-tag team of a deputy sheriff, her boyfriend and her ex-fiancé can stop it.

Here's the trailer.  Scott Stevens, who was my co-star in "Rounding Third", plays the demon who possesses phones (from beyond the grave) and you can see him at the beginning of the trailer as he makes some gruff noises and demonic laughs (even as he is getting buried alive).

 

Remains Found

I haven't posted about this story -- it's too depressing.  But now maybe that her remains appear to have been found (and we all knew it would end up that way), focus can go elsewhere:

HICKORY, N.C. – Investigators said Friday they believe they have found the remains of a disabled North Carolina girl who was reported missing about a month ago.

Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said investigators matched a bone found a couple of weeks ago with 10-year-old Zahra Baker's DNA.

"I've been dreading this moment from early on in the investigation," Adkins said. "We have recovered enough physical evidence to think we have found Zahra."

Police also found a child's remains earlier this week in western North Carolina in an area near where Zahra's stepmother once lived. The remains will need to be tested to make sure they also belong to Zahra, Adkins said.

The freckle-faced Zahra, who had bone cancer that forced her to use a prosthetic leg and hearing aids, was reported missing by her parents Oct. 9. They said she was last seen in her bed at their home in Hickory, about 50 miles northwest of Charlotte.

A couple of weeks later, her prosthetic leg and the bone were discovered in some brush, about five miles away from where the other remains were found buried.

"Investigators, agents, officers and staff who worked on this case are devastated that we were not able to find Zahra alive and bring her home safely," Adkins said.

 

GOP's Dirty Tricks in NC

(via Digby)

RALEIGH, NC —With less than 24 hours until the close of polls tomorrow night, the North Carolina Democratic Party is getting reports of disgraceful repeated robo calls to unaffiliated and Democratic voters from conservative interest groups meant to anger voters and suppress turnout.

These unsolicited robo calls, which are coming to a voters sometimes up to eight times in a row, include a Democratic candidate asking for support in tomorrow’s election. Not surprisingly, many people hang up the call before they can hear the full message. The NCDP expects these robo calls to continue being made to unaffiliated and Democratic households into the middle of the night.

“These robo calls are a desperate, despicable, and unfortunately, predictable, attempt by the GOP to keep Democratic voters away from the polls tomorrow,” said Andrew Whalen, Executive Director of the NCDP. “It seems like there is no line Republicans will not cross in order to secure victory. North Carolina voters need to know who is behind these calls, and the NCDP will do everything in its power to ensure these likely illegal calls are stopped as soon as possible.”

These robo calls are not the first dirty tricks Republicans have played in the days leading up to tomorrow’s election. On Sunday, an organization named Americans in Contact PAC (AIPAC) started sending out unsolicited text messages to voters in the districts of Congressmen Heath Shuler and Larry Kissell. These text messages, which could violate FCC regulations, provided a phone number to the Democratic candidates’ campaign offices, leaving voters with the impression that the text messages were sent from their campaigns. 

******************

I should probably suggest that you vote, and if you don't know where to vote, then you should find your fucking polling place.

I Voted Early

Took five minutes.  In and out.  Easy and kind of fun.

In fact, I might do it again later this week.

Didn't quite vote the straight Democratic ticket.  Left a lot of positions blank.  And if I knew the candidate (a neighbor, or a legal colleague running for the court), I didn't care about political party.

Voted "yes" on the library bond issue, although I think that might lose because people in these parts don't cotton to that edumacation thing, especially if it means higher taxes.

Voted "yes" on the constitutional amendment which will ban ex-felons from being sheriff.  You may ask "WTF?", but seven ex-felons ran for sheriff in various counties throughout North Carolina, so it's an epidemic down here.  You may wonder who would be in favor of ex-felons becoming sheriff, and the answer is the Libertarian Party of North Carolina.  They point out that stealing pine needles is a felony in North Carolina (they are right about that), and ask "do we want to preclude people from being sheriff simply because they stole pine needles?"

And after giving it some thought, I concluded, "Actually, yes.  If you steal anything, pine needles, bicycles, whatever -- you probably shouldn't be sheriff."  So I voted "yes" on that one.

Idiots

Down the road:

MIDWAY, N.C. (WGHP) - A Davidson County man says he found Jesus Christ in a tree branch.

After his landlord cut up a branch that fell from his tree, Bill Johnson took a closer look and couldn't believe what he saw.

Johnson says the image on the branch appears to be Jesus Christ dressed in a robe and holding out his hand.

"First thing crossed my mind was, 'that's a picture of Jesus'. So I go in and get my wife," said Johnson.

Johnson didn't tell his wife about his religious discovery. Instead, he just showed her the limb of the tree.

"First thing she said was, 'that looks like Jesus'," said Johnson.

Johnson put polyurethane of the branch to preserve the image and believes the discovery was a sign that he needs to return to attending church on Sunday more regularly.

Yes, it looks like Jesus.  It also looks like the head of a duck, like a duck puppet.  And about 100 other things.  

But no.  It's Jesus coming to this guy in the middle of a tree, telling him he needs to go to church more.

PT Barnum lived in the wrong century.

Kennedy vs. Foxx

Digby thinks he "may just pull this thing out".  Well, I hate to be pessimistic, but Billy Kennedy's chances against Virginia Foxx in NC-05 are just about zero: he's down 30 points in the polls. 

I will say this though: he's running a great campaign.    

Granted, he's up against Virginia "Matthew Shepard was a hoax" Foxx, but this is North Carolina, y'all, where crazy isn't necessarily an impediment to high office.  

But that doesn't detract from the fact that Kennedy is running like a winner.  So much so that the Winston-Salem Journal, which tends to back Republicans, actually endorsed Kennedy over Foxx.

He also did well in the debate earlier this week.  Here's a zinger he got in:

 

Now, I could be wrong abut Kennedy's chances, so I encourage everyone to vote, even if chances are bleak.  It's important to vote against the insanity of the right wing.  

Victory For NC ACLU In Body Piercing Case

Honestly, I think the North Carolina chapter of the ACLU has only one attorney, Kathleen Lewis Parker (who I crossed paths with last year when a friend's daughter was barred from creating a gay student organization at a local high school).

The NC chapter of the ACLU is a good organization, but woefully underfunded.  So it can't do all the good things it would like to do.

But it is nice when they have successful moments.  Today, they got a nice win:

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge ordered a North Carolina school to admit a 14-year-old high school student suspended for wearing a nose piercing she says is part of her religion, and the teenager was headed to science class Friday afternoon.

U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard announced his decision allowing Ariana Iacono to return to school during a hearing Friday.

"We are thrilled that Ariana can return to her studies," her mother, Nikki Iacono, said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union. "Ariana was an honor roll student in middle school, and she is eager to get back to her classes and continue with her education as soon as possible."

A call to Nikki Iacono by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.

The ACLU file a lawsuit Wednesday claiming school officials violated Iacono's constitutional religious liberty rights. The freshman has been suspended repeatedly since classes started four weeks ago. She and her mother, Nikki, claim the nose piercing is part of their faith, not a fashion statement.

The Johnston County school system has a dress code banning facial piercings, but allows for exemptions based on religious beliefs.

Ariana and her mother belong to a church called the Church of Body Modification, which sees piercings and tattoos as religious devotion. The church has 3,500 members nationwide and was incorporated in Pennsylvania in July 2008.

Personally, I would have liked to seen this case won on free speech grounds, rather than religious freedom grounds.  It's not like the piercing was to such a degree that it created a distraction to other students.

On the other hand, what was pretty ugly about the case was that the school officials made Ariana and her family have to defend their religion -- having to prove that it was a bona fide religion and that they were truly members of that religion.  Can you say "religious test" anyone?  (The full allegations are in the complaint here - PDF).

Now, the judge's order is only temporary, but it's still a big win.  She'll go back to school, the world will not come to an end, and she will presumably win the full case (unless, of course, the school decides to drop all disciplinary action).

High Point City Council Approves Mosque, Without Any Freakout

How it's done:

HIGH POINT, N.C. The City Council on Monday unanimously approved a pair of rezoning requests that clears the way for a mosque to be built in south High Point.

The council granted requests from Malik Hanif to rezone 6.9 acres on the east side of Allen Jay Road just north of E. Fairfield Road from a residential multi-family classification to conditional use public and institutional with an accompanying conditional-use permit. Hanif and the Islamic Society of High Point plan to build an Islamic worship center and educational facility. Organizers said the city’s two existing mosques on W. Lexington Avenue and W. Market Center Drive don’t provide adequate space.

“In the last three or four years, we have seen tremendous growth in the population of the Muslim community. We are seeing so many immigrants and newcomers, and they are settling on the south side,” said Uzma Zaman, spokeswoman for the Islamic Center of High Point. “As new families are coming, they’re growing, they’re having kids, and we’re seeing a new generation of kids.”

Most of the discussion about the case centered around the impact of traffic generated by the mosque. City staff said Allen Jay Road currently gets about 10 percent of its vehicles-per-day capacity, and even combined with traffic from a nearby school, congestion shouldn’t be an issue.

“I’m concerned about noise and congestion, with us living right on top of the site,” said Katherine Gillespie, whose Ingram Road property abuts the mosque site.

Organizers said they don’t think the facility will impact traffic in the area at all because the hours when it draws people are expected to be from about 5-9 p.m. for children’s classes and for prayers early on Friday afternoons – times that shouldn’t conflict with school traffic.

Other residents voiced concerns about whether the mosque will teach Sharia, or Islamic law, and whether information about the donors for the facility is a matter of public record. Zaman said the mosque will not teach Sharia.

“If Christians are free to teach their kids, we can teach ours,” she said. “Just like you guys read the Bible, we’re going to read the Quran.”

City Attorney Fred Baggett reminded the council that the law requires members to consider only land-use issues and not religious questions in deciding cases like the one Monday.

“The Constitution of this great land does offer freedom of religion. The issue of faith has no bearing on these proceedings,” said Councilman Mike Pugh.

The Reviews Are In

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Actors' fine work brings to life the tests of baseball and its parallel with life

SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL

Published: August 22, 2010

Actors Ken Ashford and Scott Stevens hit over-the-wall home runs with their performances in Rounding Third. The play, written by Richard Dresser and directed by Nathan Adam Sullivan, opened Friday night at Theatre Alliance.

The play debuted in Chicago, appeared off-Broadway and has enjoyed more than 100 productions. Jamie Lawson, Theatre Alliance's artistic director, saw it about a year ago in Greensboro at The Open Space Café Theatre. He liked it so much he invited the director and actors to bring it to Winston-Salem. 

Ashford and Stevens play two grown men, trying to be good fathers while still struggling with some of life's hardest lessons themselves. They meet on the baseball field, coaching a Little League team. Ashford is true to the role of Don, the blue-collar clipboard-toting veteran of the game. Stevens is his perfect opposite as Michael, the eager corporate executive whose only sporting experience is curling.

Don and Michael display hilariously different approaches to the game of baseball.

"How do we have fun in baseball?" Don shouts. "Winning. Losing sucks." On the other hand, soft-spoken Michael wants to "create a safe and nurturing atmosphere" in which the boys will learn to be "proud captains of their own little ships."

Trying desperately to make friends despite their differences, Michael arrives with a cup of mocha latte for the beer-swilling coach.

"This isn't the ladies sewing club," Don spits out. He throws the cup in the metal trash can with the telling comment, "I like plain old American coffee."

While Ashford and Scott are the only actors on stage, they do a remarkable job of bringing to life the kid who constantly trips over his untied shoelaces, the one who keeps losing his glasses and the coach's son, Jimmy, who breaks his father's heart by trading the pitcher's mound for a role in Brigadoon.

One of the most heartfelt moments comes near the end of the show with Stevens' eyes-raised-to-heaven monologue. The action freezes as he prays that God will let his son, Frankie, finally catch the ball.

But it took all Ashford's trashcan-kicking and red-in-the-face rage to get our hearts open enough to feel.

And when Stevens yells the line, "Don't slow down when you're rounding third," we're all right there with him, win or lose.

Theatre Alliance presents Rounding Third today at 2 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 26-28, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $14, $12 for students and seniors. The theater is at 1047 W. Northwest Blvd. To purchase tickets, call 800-838-3006 or go to www.wstheatrealliance.org.

Local Officer Stuck In Police Car For 3 Hours

The Reviews Are In

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Leigh Somerville McMillan 

SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL 

 Published: August 1, 2010 

The Theatre Alliance audience returned home after Friday's opening night performance with quite a catch. King Mackerel & The Blues Are Running: Songs and Stories of the Carolina Coast delivered exactly what was promised: a vacation. 

And, like most vacations, we didn't want it to end. Within minutes of stepping on stage, Jason Kraack, Mike Orsillo, Tracy Warren and Ken Ashford became our new best friends. 

Playing members of the band, The Coastal Cohorts, they engaged the audience in a benefit to raise money to restore Miss Mattie Jewell's Corncake Inlet Inn after it was damaged in a hurricane. 

Kraack, the leader of the group, explains that if they fail, the "greed-head developers" will tear it down and build a new high-rise. Kraack's rich and true tenor and full-body piano playing earned him the role of "The King Fish." He knows how to rock and roll, but he was clearly at his best during his heartwarming solos, "Sand Mountain Song" and "Home On The River." 

Wearing a well-worn ball cap and growling out a better-than-garage band baritone, the "mystic fisherman" Orsillo brought back memories of summer romances in his solo "Georgia Rose." But it was his storytelling, especially of Cooter Womble's boating fiasco, that won our hearts. 

And when Warren took the stance and leaned back with that bass guitar, we all fell in love with his boyish smile. The house was full of folks who related to his fondness for cruising Myrtle Beach at 4 or 5 miles an hour in the 1963 Thunderbird his grandmother won in a Bingo game. 

Director Jamie Lawson gave the show the perfect finishing touch by adding Ken Ashford on drums to the script. It's hard to imagine '50s music without percussion. While he only had one line (which he delivered perfectly), Ashford was able to do more with his good-ole-boy smile than some actors can accomplish with pages of monologue. 

A rousing game of Bingo provided the opportunity for some actual audience participation. Rita Ladd won an all expenses paid vacation at the Corncake Inlet Inn with its private flush bucket and flounder shaped Jacuzzi. The rest of the audience won rubber worms. 

After the final number, the crowd was invited to have pictures taken with the band and the 5-foot long, 42-pound, 11-ounce canvas King Mackerel borrowed from the original cast. No one seemed to mind getting a little sand in their shoes. 

Theatre Alliance will present King Mackerel & The Blues are Running at 2 p.m. today; at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and at 2 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $16 and $14 for students and seniors. The theater is at 1047 W. Northwest Blvd. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 800-838-3006 or go to www.wstheatrealliance.org.

We've added a show at 4:00 next Saturday, too.  

Here's a picture of the cast with a pretty girl:

 

North Carolina Unemployment and The Filibuster Attempt

Tomorrow, Congress will consider extending unemployment benefits to millions of out-of-work Americans.  Last time they tried this, Republicans successfully blocked it.

According to the latest numbers from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, North Carolina currently has a double-digit unemployment rate of 10 percent. North Carolina Policy Watch estimates that when the last vote to extend unemployment insurance failed, 20,000 North Carolinians lost their benefits.

All across the state, unemployed North Carolinians are suffering as their benefits run out and they are unable to find any work due to the recession. Here are just a few examples of the pain the unemployed in Burr’s state are experiencing:

– Stephen Crockett, who has “34 years of primarily manufacturing and construction experience” in the Winston-Salem area, has been unemployed since August 2008. His benefits ran out June 14th, and he worries he will be “homeless, hungry and without car insurance by mid-July if another extension is not granted.”

– Boonville’s Melissa Carr lost her job more than a year ago at a travel agency. Living on $135 a week in unemployment benefits, she qualified for a Pell grant and is studying to become a substance abuse counselor.Yet her benefits will run out soon, and she is terrified of what she will do without them. “I am going to lose my home and most likely, my possessions,” she told USA Today.

– Shari Maloney, 45, has been out of work since January and lives with her boyfriend in Raleigh, who is also unemployed. “It’s a roller coaster, honestly,” Maloney told the Charlotte Observer. “Can I say that it’s getting any better? No, I can’t say that. I talked with a recruiter recently with a group of other applicants. She said, ‘Look, you guys are all midcareer, you’re midmanagement and your jobs are the ones that are not going to be coming back soon.’”

- In Ashe County, North Carolina, unemployed couple Mark Nesselhaus and Stephanie Young were forced to live in a tent in a campground in West Jefferson after Nesselhaus was laid off twice from manufacturing jobs. As storms pounded the campground, the owner allowed the couple to move into a cabin and pay rent when they can. “You don’t realize how fast it could happen to you,” Nesselhaus told the local press. “You could be working one day, nice paycheck, nice home and within a week or a day it could all be gone.”

It's uncertain whether Republicans will prevail in their expected attempt to filibuster unemployment benefits.  Still, one wonders if Richard Burr (R-NC) will break ranks with his colleagues.  Don't hold your breath.

The Local Tea Party Candidate

All over the country, the Republican Party is running up against far-right "tea party" candidates, often to hilarious results.  As I have pointed out, the GOP/Tea Party rift tends to divide the right side of the political spectrum, all to the benefit of the Left/Democrats.

It's no different here in North Carolina.  The GOP is attacking the tea party's man who (if the GOP is correct) is kind of a loon:

North Carolina Republicans are circulating court documents that suggest a far-right Tea-Party-backed congressional candidate claimed to be the Messiah, tried to raise his stepfather from the dead, believed God would drop a 1,000-mile high pyramid as the New Jerusalem on Greenland, and found the Ark of the Covenant in Arizona.

Tim D'Annunzio also has written that he wants to abolish several key government departments, including the IRS. But there's more going on here than just another wacky conservative politician. The effort by GOP leaders to stop D'Annunzio at all costs offers an intriguing test case of their ability to keep control of the party in the face of challenges from the Tea Party wing. Or as D'Annunzio himself has put it: "The power brokers in Raleigh and in Washington are willing to go to any length and use any unscrupulous tactic to try to destroy somebody. They think that they're losing their control over the Republican party."

D'Annunzio is seeking the GOP nomination to take on Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.) this fall. He was the leader in a primary earlier this month, but didn't win enough of the vote to avoid a runoff in June. The state and national party is backing his opponent, former T.V. sportscaster Harold Johnson. And how.

"I consider Mr. D'Annunzio unfit for public office at any level," Tom Fetzer, the North Carolina GOP chair, told reporters recently. "What he could do to the party as our nominee is secondary in my view to what he could do to the country if he got elected." And a spokesman for the NRCC said: "The issue is, do we give Democrats a candidate that they can absolutely tear apart in the general election? I don't think most Republicans want to see that happen."

To undermine D'Annunzio, the state GOP has been circulating records from his 1995 divorce and from a 1998 child support judgment. In the latter, as the Charlotte Observer reported Sunday, the judge called D'Annunzio "a self-described religious zealot," and wrote that D'Annunzio had "described the government as the 'Antichrist'."

In the divorce case, Anne D'Annunzio said her husband had told her that "God was going to drop a 1,000-mile high pyramid" on Greenland, and also that he had found the Ark of the Covenant in Arizona, among other unusual beliefs.

In addition, a doctor wrote in the custody proceedings that D'Annunzio told him he had once received treatment for heroin dependence, and was jailed three times for offenses that included burglary and assaulting a police officer.

D'Annunzio says his personal problems are in all in the past. But the Born Again candidate still has some pretty extreme political ideas. On a blog he writes, entitled "Christ's War," D'Annunzio declared earlier this year that he wanted to "abolish the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Energy, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Transportation, Treasury, and Home Land Security," and the IRS, as well as "any appellate court that has shown an anti Constitutional activism." He also advocated giving control of Social Security and Medicare to the states.

I would love it if D'Annunzio won the GOP nomination.  Sadly, I don't think it will happen.

NC Goodwill Centers No Longer Interesting; They're Scary

On Monday, I wrote a post entitled: NC Goodwill Centers Getting Interesting.

I take that back.  Another grenade has been found at a local Goodwill Center, this time right here in Winston-Salem:

WINSTON-SALEM -- A customer at the Goodwill store on Peters Creek Parkway tried to purchase a grenade found on a shelf Wednesday morning, prompting the evacuation of the store while bomb squad members removed it, Winston-Salem police said.

Police said Goodwill officials didn't know if the item had been donated. A clerk at the store was concerned by the appearance of the grenade and called police.

Bomb squad members are working to determine if the grenade contained explosives.

A training grenade was discovered Monday in some clothing donated to a Goodwill location in Madison.

"Military ordnance of any kind should not be donated to charity stores," a news release from Winston-Salem police read. "Members of the public that locate military ordnance or need ordnance or ammunition destroyed should contact their local law enforcement agency. Any suspected military ordnance should not be handled."

NC Goodwill Centers Getting Interesting

Reported yesterday, in Asheville:

A clothes sorter at a North Carolina charity generated a lot of goodwill when she turned in thousands of dollars she found in a sock.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that Goodwill worker Jocelyn Garnace found more than $5,000 cash in a sock wrapped up in a blanket.

This afternoon, in Madison:

A device that could be a grenade was found in some clothing donated to a Goodwill location in Madison, police in Madison said.

Police said the device was discovered at about 11:40 a.m.

The device was taken to the Madison police station.

Officials were waiting for members of the Greensboro squad to arrive to analyze the device.

Breaking: Flight to DC Receives Threat; Lands In Greensboro

AP:

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Officials say a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to the Washington area has been diverted to North Carolina after a threatening message was written on a bathroom mirror.

The Transportation Security Administration says Continental Flight 3006 was headed for Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Wednesday when it was directed to land at Piedmont Triad International Airport near Greensboro "out of an abundance of caution."

The TSA said the plane was met by law enforcement officers after taxiing to a remote area of the airfield

 

Breaking: Flight to DC Gets Bomb Threat; Lands In Greensboro

AP:

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Officials say a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to the Washington area has been diverted to North Carolina after a threatening message was written on a bathroom mirror.

The Transportation Security Administration says Continental Flight 3006 was headed for Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Wednesday when it was directed to land at Piedmont Triad International Airport near Greensboro "out of an abundance of caution."

The TSA said the plane was met by law enforcement officers after taxiing to a remote area of the airfield.

North Carolina Tax Officials Tried To Get Information On Your Amazon Purchases

Bet you didn't know that.

Nobody did, except that it showed up in some court papers filed yesterday.  Amazon is trying to block the North Carolina Department of Revenue from getting information about Amazon purchases by virtually North Carolina resident since 2003.

Yeah, and it's the federal government which is being intrusive!