Carolinian Exceptionalism (School Shootings)

As the father of two young boys, one already in Kindergarten, I can’t help but feel helpless seeing American schoolkids murdered in their classrooms on a monthly basis.  “Thoughts and prayers” are running thin.

Columbine happened when I was in high school.  I remember discussing it with my English class.  Most of us wrote it off by arguing that the kids responsible were “just crazy.”  Colorado was too far away, and it never really registered.  We went on being high school kids.

Flash forward twenty years:  I’m a dad now, and I’m at a PTA event in the auditorium of my old elementary school where I was a turtle in the Christmas play.  The speaker interrupts bingo night to solicit donations to construct a solid wooden fence around the playground to “protect the perimeter” of the school.

What happened?  No, seriously, what happened?

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Rep. Szoka on Teacher Pay: At least you’re not a farmer (Audio)

Republicans in the legislature have begun to spin their response to the massive teacher rally that will take place in Raleigh tomorrow.  “Misinformation” is being spread, they argue.  “Union thugs” are organizing the march, not real teachers.  Regardless of the spin, it’s going to get interesting on Jones Street.   This is no small rally.

As a whole, there seems to be a massive divide between the thoughts of knowledgeable Republican legislators and the feelings of teachers.  You could hear it on the airwaves this morning in Fayetteville:

On a local talk show, Representative John Szoka (R-45) expressed amazement and laughed when asked why teachers are so unhappy that they are marching on Raleigh.

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C.C. Divide’s Primary Predictions

This post contains my predicted winners for primaries in Cumberland County, including state, local, and congressional races.  But first, a few motivational words about voting from Willie Stark:

All of these races are closed partisan primaries so I’ve reached across the aisle for some insight.  Remember, my predictions are not endorsements.  With that said, here are the picks:

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Self-Funded Attacks??? (Senate 19)

We’ve blogged about the Democratic Primary in District 19 multiple times on this site.  It’s an intriguing race featuring two candidates that couldn’t be more different, but it’s turned exceptionally ugly in recent weeks.  Most of the battle is being fought in the mailboxes of likely Democratic voters with glossy attack ads.   Today, a new wrinkle emerged that took me and many observers with their political ears to the ground by surprise.

In a recent interview with the Fayetteville Observer, Ed Donaldson claimed that his entire campaign is “self-funded.”  The campaign finance reports back this up, as Donaldson appears to have loaned his own campaign over twenty grand.  More importantly, he hasn’t reported a single donation.

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Crossing-Out Control of the Courts

Convention_of_1868_DocSouth_conv68tpBack in October, I wrote an article for Up and Coming Weekly about judicial redistricting.  I argued the Republican majority in Raleigh was attempting to gerrymander judicial districts on racial lines to gain an advantage in the North Carolina courts.  This will lead to further partisan and racial divide in a place that should, in theory, be free from racial bias and party influence.  The Republican majority has yet to succeed in these redistricting plans, but they are now pushing forward with a different sort of power-grab.

The Governor of North Carolina has held the power to fill vacancies in our District Courts since they were first created by statute in 1965.  A bill introduced in the House of Representatives will alter 50+ years of law and tradition.

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