To those Democrats who have outlived their usefulness:

Crawford, who had voted against the measure last month, decided Monday night to change his position and become vote number 72. "I’ve always voted pro-life. And I tried to stick with my crowd with the other vote because I knew it was going to pass. But when it comes down to informing people and that kind of issue, I just felt like it was important to let people know the consequences of abortion."

In other words, you (like so many of your anachronistic comrades) think that women are basically stupid, and need to be treated like hand-holding pre-k children. Well guess what, Jim? You're gonna to find out just how smart they are this Spring.

Stifling the voices of truth:

The North Carolina League of Conservation Voters sees more than a dozen instances in which two conservation-friendly lawmakers would be drawn into the same legislative district. Dan Crawford, director of governmental relations with the League, says that means at least one of them would not be returning in the next election year.

Makes perfect sense. When you're determined to do something that you know is wrong, and that would piss off most of your constituents if they truly understood what you're doing, the safest thing to do is get rid of those who would debate you.

Of course, the NCGOP has proven that it couldn't care less about fair and legal on any front, let alone the redistricting front. Laura Leslie breaks it down.

Democrats say their map splits fewer counties than the GOP plan: 14, rather than 19. That's a consideration under the state constitution's Whole County Provision. The Stephenson ruling reaffirmed that county lines must be taken in account wherever they don't conflict with the Voting Rights Act or other legal requirements. The Democratic map also splits far fewer precincts, they say – 6 as opposed to 257 in the GOP map – although keeping precincts whole is not a required legal consideration in North Carolina redistricting, as far as I can tell.

The Republican assault on women in North Carolina continues unabated.

From their illegal ban on governments doing business with the Planned Parenthood organization to their intrusion into the privacy of doctor-patient relationships, the misogynists in the GOP will not stop until women are fully and permanently subjugated to the will of men.

If you care about the rights of women to control their own bodies, if you care about ensuring that women have access to safe health services, please support Planned Parenthood.

Overreaching on abortion rights will become a lightning rod for blow-back against the Republican Party in North Carolina, inspiring renewed activism and support for reproductive rights. It will be a long, hard battle and we need your help.

From the Winston Salem Journal: Republican "stewardship"
The bill's changes allow corporations to shift income earned, and therefore taxable, in North Carolina to other states. The corporations end up paying considerably less tax, North Carolina loses tax revenue, and millions of dollars flow out of this state's economy.

From the Fayetteville Observer: The high cost of low taxes
Two Harnett County libraries, closed as part of an austerity plan, will reopen for six months. That's an incontestably good thing, but it offers little reason for optimism.

From the Wilmington Star: The downward spiral in public education
But it is clear that North Carolina schools still have a long way to go to be on par with their counterparts in the highest-performing states. Across the state, schools struggled to meet higher proficiency marks for math and reading skills. Even the “best” schools, as seen within their communities, had trouble meeting their goals.

Morehead City's air and water are at risk:

The web of secrecy this time was cast over a plan by one of the world's largest fertilizer companies to build a $95 million sulfur-melting plant with twin 150-foot smokestacks in the Morehead City Port.

The purpose behind the secrecy is readily apparent from the level of public alarm that has gone up since the recent discovery of this plan, and the company in question should be familiar to you:

*note: This diary is considerably longer than I had intended, but thanks to the total lack of transparency, we're playing a desperate game of catch-up on this. Please take the time to read.

Reading this post today, everything finally clicked into place. I finally understand the Christianists, though it makes my head want to explode.

No, it's not about the Tea Party assassin in Norway. It's about Tea Party dominionists in Florida who want to loosen environmental restrictions that protect ocean animals. These god-fearing Christian soldiers are proud to say: "We cannot elevate nature above people," explained Edna Mattos, 63, leader of the Citrus County Tea Party Patriots, in an interview. "That's against the Bible and the Bill of Rights."

We have such fools here at home, those in favor of turning North Carolina's beaches into concrete bunkers. Those who want to give zygotes the same exalted status as living humans. Those who believe mercury is an essential ingredient for North Carolina rivers. Those very same partisan whores who believe elected officials should choose their voters instead of vice versa.