Funny how the most educated places in North Carolina voted overwhelmingly against a measure that is plainly mean-spirited and recklessly harmful to not just gay people, but anyone who chooses to live with a partner without getting married. It’s also odd that the people who voted for this amendment tend to be the ones who occupy the same political space as those for whom “less government” is a full-blown belief system. And it’s also curious that in a country that is most definitely not a theocracy, we’re still passing laws with justifications that amount to “because my God says so”.

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11:56 pm - 8 May 2012
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Filed under: #Amendment 1 #North Carolina #politics

Matthew Godley gave up on basketball for three years, looking to pursue a career in auto racing instead.

Having seen success as a driver since age 9 in Bandoleros, Legends and late-model series, it seemed like the logical choice. Then the economy took a downfall.

“Some of my sponsors had to back out,” said Godley. “But I took advantage of another opportunity that seemed a little dark. I picked basketball back up.”

9:18 am - 8 Feb 2012 - 1 note
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Filed under: #basketball #motorsports #North Carolina

If you live in the Commonwealth of Virginia and you’re wondering who sets the academic calendar, you need only look up, up to the soaring roller coasters and slides of Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. It seems that since 1986, a Virginia law has barred schools from opening before Labor Day because it’s bad for the amusement park industry.

A similarly insane law governs the North Carolina academic calendar: school may not start before August 25 or end after June 10 (PDF), and it appears the tourism industry was a part of the effort to pass that law.

The thing is, it prevents policy makers from putting together the most rational calendar possible. What is our education system’s ultimate goal? Simple: we want to guide young people to lives of learning and accomplishment, however they define it. To do that, we don’t want to crush them with responsibility — they are children, after all, and free time and family time have their place — but an ideal academic calendar almost certainly has more than 185 academic days, and might not have a three-month break during the summer months.

Unfortunately, current law aimed at protecting tourism acts in direct opposition to schools’ interests. I happen to think public schools are more important, in sum, than tourism, but our state government’s actions indicate a lot of legislators think otherwise.

10:30 am - 6 Dec 2011 - 24 notes
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Filed under: #education #North Carolina #Virginia

Verone says he’s not a political man.

But he has a lot to say on the subject of socialized medical care. He suspects he wouldn’t be talking to a reporter through a metal screen wearing an orange jumpsuit if such an option were available in the U.S.

“If you don’t have your health you don’t have anything,” said Verone.

59 years old, with hardly a working future ahead of him — this is borderline genius. Where else can he get the care he needs? Jail, it is.

My question for those who would blast this guy: Should he simply accept a slow, painful death?

Via Wonkette

9:15 pm - 21 Jun 2011 - 10 notes
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Filed under: #politics #prison #Gastonia #North Carolina

I appreciate NASCAR as much as any urban-born, urban-raised, mostly-urban-dwelling citizen, but naming stock car racing the official sport of North Carolina is ridiculous.

The obvious choice is basketball, but why honor a sport with an even longer history in the state, one that anyone can play recreationally at any time, and that almost certainly contributes to more than the “20,000 jobs” the motorsports industry creates?

9:28 am - 21 Jun 2011
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Filed under: #basketball #NASCAR #North Carolina #Bev Perdue #politics

The results of this poll of North Carolina residents make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Unless there’s some reason I’m missing that 9% of self-identified African-Americans actually do wish that the South had won the Civil War.

PDF results. Via PPP, via Jamelle Bouie.

11:08 am - 26 Apr 2011
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Filed under: #politics #North Carolina #Civil War

A story told to me by my future brother-in-law…

I’ve been meaning to get a concealed weapon permit, because my line of work takes me out to some pretty remote places, some pretty rough places, and I’d just feel a lot better if I had something for self-defense in those situations. So, last weekend, I went to what they call a concealed carry class, up in Salisbury. Man, I’m telling you, it was an afternoon to remember.

(“Gun Guy”, by Theda Bara, cc-licensed)

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4:46 pm - 18 Apr 2011
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Filed under: #North Carolina #guns #politics

Can’t escape Bawston, even in Charlotte, North Carolina.

9:03 am - 28 Mar 2011
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Filed under: #Boston #North Carolina