Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Media Advisory UPDATE: New Locations, Times and Map Released for Truth and Hope Tour

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 29, 2012

For More Information:       Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                                           Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Acting Director, 919-682-4700

For Media Assistance:       Rob Stephens, Office Manager, 336-577-9335 

*SCHEDULE UPDATED*

Second Leg of Truth and Hope Tour, Putting a Face on Poverty in Southeastern NC

Click to Download Map of Truth and Hope Tour

Friday, March 2

7:00 am                    BUS DEPARTURE - Media Welcome for Kick Off

First Baptist Church

101 S Wilmington Street

Raleigh, NC

9:00-10:30 am          PITT COUNTY 

                                                Lucille W. Gorham Intergenerational Community Center

                                                1100 Ward Street

                                                Greenville, NC 27834

11:45 am -1:30 pm   WAYNE COUNTY

                                                Community Crisis Center

                                                607 S Slocumb Street 

                                                Goldsboro, NC 27530-5815

4:00 - 6:00 pm            DUPLIN/SAMPSON COUNTY   

                                                Juniper Community Center

                                                226 Juniper Road

                                                Faison, NC 28341  

Saturday March 3

9:00- 10:30 am            NEW HANOVER COUNTY 

                                                Macedonia Missionary Baptist church 

                                                3701 Princess Place

Wilmington, NC  

10:50 - 11:20 am        BRUNSWICK COUNTY  

                                                Navassa, NC

                                                Site of 600 acres of intentionally contaminated land

   Call Jerry Jackson (631-806-9677) for on-site directions  

11:45 - 12:15 am                    Supply, NC

   Royal Oak Community Site Visit

   Call Jerry Jackson (631-806-9677) for on-site directions

1:30 - 3:00 pm            ROBESON COUNTY

                                                Red Springs Community Building
                                                122 Cross Street  

Red Springs, NC

5:00 - 6:30 pm            CUMBERLAND COUNTY

   Walker-Spivey School, Recreation Center

   500 Fisher Street   

   Fayetteville, NC  

Email Action: Take Action on Anti-LGBT Attack in Boone: Sign Petition, Attend Forum at ASU on Friday

Equality NC again calls on the legislature to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state's already existing hate crime law after a bias-motivated attack on two young women in Boone. The Safer Communities Act would expand current legislation to include hate crimes based on real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

More details are below, but there are two ways you can take action and make a difference.

1) First, if you're in the Boone area this Friday, March 2, please attend a community forum from 6:30-8:30 pm in the Blue Ridge Ballroom of Appalachian State University's Student Union. The two women involved in the assault are confirmed to speak, and Equality NC and The Coalition to Protect All NC Families will also be there.

2) The second action you can take is to help these women in their grassroots efforts to expand current hate crime protections. For more information and to sign their the petition, visit their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/328904423812343/

... and petition:

change.org/petitions/amend-nc-hate-crime-laws.

No More Protest in front of Government Building, Act Now..


The US House of Representatives voted 388-to-3 in favor of H.R. 347 late Monday, a bill which is being dubbed the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011. In the bill, Congress officially makes it illegal to trespass on the grounds of the White House, which, on the surface, seems not just harmless and necessary, but somewhat shocking that such a rule isn’t already on the books. The wording in the bill, however, extends to allow the government to go after much more than tourists that transverse the wrought iron White House fence.

Under the act, the government is also given the power to bring charges against Americans engaged in political protest anywhere in the country.

Under current law, White House trespassers are prosecuted under a local ordinance, a Washington, DC legislation that can bring misdemeanor charges for anyone trying to get close to the president without authorization. Under H.R. 347, a federal law will formally be applied to such instances, but will also allow the government to bring charges to protesters, demonstrators and activists at political events and other outings across America.

The new legislation allows prosecutors to charge anyone who enters a building without permission or with the intent to disrupt a government function with a federal offense if Secret Service is on the scene, but the law stretches to include not just the president’s palatial Pennsylvania Avenue home. Under the law, any building or grounds where the president is visiting — even temporarily — is covered, as is any building or grounds “restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance."
 
WE have to stop this now.
see bill info after the break.
H.R.347 -- Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011 (Engrossed in House [Passed House] - EH)
HR 347 EH
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 347

AN ACT
To correct and simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of title 18, United States Code.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011'.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS.
Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
`Sec. 1752. Restricted building or grounds
`(a) Whoever--
`(1) knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so;
`(2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions;
`(3) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds; or
`(4) knowingly engages in any act of physical violence against any person or property in any restricted building or grounds;
or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
`(b) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) is--
`(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if--
`(A) any person, during and in relation to the offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or
`(B) the offense results in significant bodily injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); and
`(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.
`(c) In this section--
`(1) the term `restricted buildings or grounds' means any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area--
`(A) of the White House or its grounds, or the Vice President's official residence or its grounds;
`(B) of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting; or
`(C) of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance; and
`(2) the term `other person protected by the Secret Service' means any person whom the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under section 3056 of this title when such person has not declined such protection.'.
Passed the House of Representatives February 28, 2011.
Attest:
Clerk.
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 347
AN ACT
To correct and simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of title 18, United States Code.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

PFLAG Rocky Mount Community Event

Sharing this event

 

From: Elaine Baker
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2012 7:13 PM
To: Elaine Baker
Subject: PFLAG Rocky Mount

 

Thank you very much for coming out and joining us on Tuesday, February 21 in welcoming the Race to the Ballot Team at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Rocky Mount. We appreciate your support and dedication to helping keep Amendment 1 from going through.

I am including the invitation and response card to the Jimmy Creech event that you heard us speak about on Tuesday. We are looking forward to this wonderful event on March 27 and hope you are able to come out and join us for a wonderful evening.

Please let me know if you would like further information! Our next meeting will be March 20th at Braswell Memorial Library and we would love to have you with us. It will begin at 6:00 pm.

I hope to see everyone soon!

Elaine Baker
Communications Committee Chair
PFLAG Rocky Mount Chapter
252-469-5071
pflag.rm@gmail.com



Saturday, February 25, 2012

Power Up to Vote It Down: All of Us NC Training for Trainers (Eastern NC)

Public Event · By All Of Us North Carolina

Saturday, March 3, 2012

  • 10:00am until 5:30pm

We are moving our people to vote AGAINST the family discrimination amendment on May 8th ballot as we build a justice movement!
Go to our website to apply: http://allofusnc.tumblr.com/post/17926000124/power-up-to-vote-it-down-3-3-in-wilmington

This training will help you:

1) Form a multi-racial four-person training team (if you don't sign up with one)
2) Learn how to effectively facilitate a two-hour relational organizing training that will help participants learn how to engage the people they already have relationships with in order to turn people out to vote AGAINST Amendment One (the Family Discrimination Amendment)
3) Build connections with other LGBTQ people and allies from Eastern NC and around the state
4) Begin to lay plans for organizing and facilitating 1-3 trainings around Eastern NC between 3/3 and 4/28
Go to our website to apply: http://allofusnc.tumblr.com/post/17926000124/power-up-to-vote-it-down-3-3-in-wilmington

People with all levels of facilitation/training experience are WELCOME!
From no experience to lots of experience! We will help you get up to speed!

Please help us especially spread the word to:
*People who live in Eastern NC (east of Fayetteville: Greenville, Elizabeth City, New Bern, Goldsboro, Kinston, Beaufort, and rural counties)
*People who grew up in Eastern NC (but now live elsewhere)
*People who live in small towns and rural places
*People who grew up in small towns and rural places
*People of color, working class folks, LGBTQ parents, our Allies
*And ANYONE who wants to support our work to DEFEAT Amendment one!
*Lunch will be provided*

Join members of Southerners On New Ground, Immigrants & Allies United for Justice, NC Dream Team, Equality NC, Black Workers For Justice, and the Coalition to Protect NC Families
**We are grateful for the generous sponsorship of Working Films and Palm Air Cottages (Kure Beach)!

 

Wilmington, North Carolina

View Map · Get Directions

Friday, February 24, 2012

Kay Hagan opposes the NC Marriage Amendment

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan is taking a stand in North Carolina’s marriage equality debate, urging29 voters to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban civil unions and define marriage as only between one man and one woman.

Personally I think she is up to something..

You can read Senator Hagan’s full statement below:

”In today’s hyper-partisan political environment, I view any attempt to alter our state constitution with a critical eye. Amendment One has far-reaching negative consequences for our families, our children and our communities. North Carolina is one of the most business-friendly states in the nation, and this amendment would harm our state’s ability to recruit the innovators and businesses that are driving our economic recovery. Jobs are my number one priority, and we cannot afford to take our eye off the ball and give businesses a reason to grow and expand elsewhere. The people I hear from everyday - the families that make up the fabric of the Old North State – tell me they are sick and tired of watching their jobs and their livelihoods fall victim to divisive partisan posturing. In North Carolina we say our state is “Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great.” Amendment One harms our state’s resolve to make all people and all families great, and as a proud daughter of North Carolina, I urge all North Carolinians to join me in opposing it.” – Senator Kay R. Hagan

N.C. to Honor Tuskegee Airmen at State Capitol

2/24/2012
Contact:
Chris Mackey

Raleigh
919-733-5612

 

Program will pay tribute to North Carolinians who served as Tuskegee Airmen in WWII

The State of North Carolina will honor Tuskegee Airmen in a program of tribute on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 11 a.m. at the N.C. State Capitol Building. 

The original group of African American airmen and specialists were trained at the Tuskegee Institute and Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during a time when the military was segregated. These men went to war and fought during World War II.

North Carolinians played a substantial role in the Tuskegee experience recruiting 20 citizens who became a part of this group. Four of the original Tuskegee Airmen, who now live in North Carolina and their families have been invited to the N.C. State Capitol Building for this tribute. These men are also members of the North Carolina chapters of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

The State of North Carolina and the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission will salute these veterans as an acknowledgement to the service and contributions they made to the nation and the world.

###

Paul “Skip” Stam gets a Challenger for his Seat

Its report that a Fuquay-Varina attorney, Jason Wunsch a democrat has filed papers to run against House Majority Leader Paul Stam of Apex..

Jason is a 1999 Campbell law school graduate and the owner of the Law Offices of Jason Wunsch, with offices in Lillington, Fuquary-Varina and Sanford

Jason gave this as the reason why he is running,

“I am running because I care about my daughters future,” Wunsch said. “North Carolina currently ranks 49th in the nation in classroom spending behind Mississippi and South Carolina. We can and must do better. Our children and grand children deserve a quality education.  We should work to attract the retain the best teachers and make it a priority to keep class sizes small,so that students receive the individualized attention they deserve.”

Does he stand a chance of winning this seat? Lets hope so. Cause it’s time to put “Skippy” out to pasture, where his sorry ideology won’t harm the citizens of North Carolina. Were one no will hear is rhetoric any more..

Lets hope the voters tell Skippy that he is the weakest link, Goodbye..

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Well, it would seem that Burr has a few Challenger for his seat.. (lets vote this turd out of office)

Justin-BurrThe Carolina Politics Online, is reporting that Justin Burr is get a few Primary challengers this May 8th.

Its reported that Norwood Town councilman Darrell Almond has filed papers to run for the 67th house district seat of the NCGA.. Also to Democrats have filed for the same seat.

Its also reported that his district is Heavily Republican, so lets hope this year this district will elects a Democrat to represent them.

Open Letter to Superintendent Anthony Tata

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23, 2012

For more information:           Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                                            Atty. Jennifer W. Marsh, Acting Director, 919-682-4700 

OPEN LETTER TO SUPERINTENDENT ANTHONY TATA

Dear Superintendent Tata:

You recently charged that two Wake School Board members had done something "unethical" through their involvement with the all-volunteer Great Schools In Wake grassroots organization.  In doing so, you also attacked the teachers, parents, and children to whom this organization devotes itself. 

Great Schools in Wake is a community group that advocates diverse, well-funded, excellent schools managed by policies that are based in scholarly research.  Their approach is to offer programs to encourage public examination of educational issues and spend countless hours monitoring the conduct of the Wake County School Board and its staff, which includes the position of superintendent.  Putting in thousands of volunteer hours, GSIW was a critical partner in the black-white-brown coalition that came together to stop efforts by the extreme right wing movement that used Wake County students as pawns in an ideological crusade.

When Great Schools and our coalition kept the Wake County Public School System from stepping off a cliff into re-segregation and high-poverty schools, we felt a new breeze of hope blowing through the administration building.  

The NAACP encouraged parents and children of color to get involved again and assured them that a new spirit of respect had replaced the hostility emanating from what had become an armed, bristling palace of disregard.  We put out the word through all our networks that children and parents of color were once again welcome to bring their hopes and difficulties to the administration building. Many of our members believed that a Fox News commentator would never have a sense of fairness.   Though there were many skeptics, we assured them that they would not be turned away.  The people running the show, we told them, no longer regarded them as "animals." as citizens were once referred to on camera by former chairman Ron Margiotta.   

Ms. Evans and Ms. Kushner, along with several other members of the board, have been patient and generous with you. They went a long way--too far, we thought--to compromise by supporting your school assignment plan, even though it ignores the commitment to diversity and the promise not to go backwards to segregated schools that got them elected to the school board. They took considerable criticism, from us and even Great Schools in Wake, for their willingness to trust in your leadership, good faith and a plan that has already indicated will result in resegregation.

We remember well your slashing attacks on the patriotism and intelligence of our Commander in Chief President Obama, a man of color, as you left the Army.  Many NAACP members argued then that we should resist what they sensed to be your underdeveloped sense of social justice that would bode ill for children of color.  When we met with you, you assured us that your family tradition included a respect for diversity and spoke with pride about your father receiving an award from the NAACP. Despite concerns regarding your past association, many in our community because of their love for education and their desire to see progress in our educational system, chose to give you a chance.

We knew that that you had provided far-right Fox News commentaries and peddled Sarah Palin--no friend to public education--as "precisely the kind of leader America needs." Yet despite that baggage we and many others have withheld judgment and encouraged hope that your commitment to the success of the school system would outweigh ideological commitments. In the first year, however, your administration opened a new school, Walnut Creek Elementary, which is a high-poverty school with more than 90% minority, more than 50% underperforming and overcrowded from day one.  We were inundated with cries of "We told you so." And though critical of these actions, members of our community still tried to work with you.  Why now have you become so inflexible when others have been so willing to try to work with you sometimes against their best instincts and knowledge? 

Your decision to assail Ms. Evans and Ms. Kushner in a personal tone with ridiculous charges of "unethical" behavior marks a low point in education leadership in Wake County.   Not only is that charge entirely groundless.  It also reveals a broad lack of self-awareness that heads toward hypocrisy. Beyond your misrepresentations that they are somehow controlled by a certain advocacy group, we have a deep concern regarding how you feel about their constitutional right of association and how you have a double standard for Tea-Party backed ideologues. 

You clearly have not taken time to develop a consistent policy with respect to advocacy groups.  When you first came to Wake County as superintendent, you immediately met with the far-right Wake County Taxpayers Association, which continues to claim that President Obama is not an American, to denounce our "gangster government," and to claim that "sustainable development" is a concept derived from the "1977 Soviet Constitution."  Was that "unethical?"

John Tedesco, who calls himself "Tea Party Tedesco" and shares your Republican politics, is executive director of a right-wing educational advocacy group.  Why have you not demanded that he resign this position?

Three Republican members of the board are running for other offices and seeking campaign contributions from groups that oppose the very idea of public schools and from persons who own private schools and are seeking the privatization of our public schools, which would bring them rivers of money.  Why are you not calling attention to the "stranglehold" these advocacy groups have on these members?     

It is clear that your concerns about advocacy groups are confined to groups whose political orientation is different from your own. 

We believe in vigorous debate and even disagreement on ideas.  We neither require nor expect agreement on every issue from you or anyone else; in fact, we disagree occasionally with the people whose integrity you are assailing. However, your public attack and accusations against the school board members who employ you, along with your attempt to say who they can and cannot associate with based on your personal feelings, is not only an attempt to tread on their constitutional rights but also in many circles would be seen as a form of insubordination and grounds for immediate dismissal.

We sincerely hope in this season of Lent, you will reach out in a redemptive way to the board members that you personally attacked and to Great Schools In Wake and its partners.  We sincerely hope your explanation will be thorough and prompt. While you consider your next steps, we will consult with all our partners to determine their positions on what our next steps are. We intend to gather the community around these matters, inform Advanced Ed of this incident, as well as those handling our Title VI complaint at the Justice Department because we believe your conduct reveals a deep and unprofessional bias and a lack of fairness and willingness to hear all voices.

With every good wish,

Rev. Dr. William Barber, II

President

North Carolina State Conference of NAACP Branches

Dr. Timothy B. Tyson

Education Chair

North Carolina Conference of NAACP Branches

Duke Divinity School

Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University

University of North Carolina

###

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Gov. Perdue: End House Effort to Slam the Door on Thousands of At-Risk Children

2/23/2012
Contact:
Chris Mackey

RALEIGH
919-733-5612

 

Draft Proposal Would Exclude a Third of At-Risk Children from NC Pre-K Eligibility

Gov. Bev Perdue today called on leaders in the North Carolina House to abandon an effort to deny access for tens of thousands of children to quality early childhood education programs.

On Wednesday—the same day Gov. Perdue announced 2,000 new slots across the state for at-risk 4-year-olds in the state’s nationally recognized NC Pre-K program—a draft report by a House select committee surfaced that would deny access for tens of thousands of 4-year-olds currently eligible for NC Pre-K.

"A mountain of research confirms that dollars invested in early childhood education pay enormous dividends," Gov. Perdue said. "We should be working to provide more access to at-risk 4-year-olds, not looking for ways to exclude the children of working families from this valuable program."

Under current guidelines, a child from a family of four with an income of $50,975 is eligible for NC Pre-K. Under the draft recommendations by the House Select Committee on Early Childhood Education Improvement, that threshold would be lowered to $22,350.

Gov. Perdue has advocated expanding early childhood education as the General Assembly’s budget has cut funding and reduced the number of slots available. In July, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning issued an order in which he said that “[t]he State of North Carolina shall not deny any eligible at-risk four year old admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program.” The Judge also directed the state to “provide the quality services of the NCPK to any eligible four year old that applies.” 

The House’s draft recommendations would alter the definition of "at risk" to exclude approximately a third of the current eligible population from NC Pre-K.

Statement Read by NC NAACP President at the Announcement of the Second Leg of the Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty in NC

This statement was read by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II at the announcement of the second leg of the Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty in NC. The tour will take place in Pitt, Wayne, Sampson/Duplin and Pender Counties on Friday, March 2nd and New Hanover, Brunswick, Robeson and Cumberland Counties on Saturday, March 3rd.  Exact times and locations will be released this weekend after listening sessions are conducted in each of the communities this week.
---

WE HAVE A SPECIAL INTEREST IN THE POOR:

Announcing the 2nd Leg of the Truth and Hope Tour

Statement

by

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President of NC NAACP

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

(DURHAM) Today we announce the Second Leg of the Truth and Hope Tour, Putting a Face on Poverty in North Carolina.  We will continue to raise the question, every way we can:  Where will the problem of systemic and structural poverty be in the political discourse this year?  Will we just read the dreadful statistics?   Will we see the faces of the children and their families?  If we see the faces, will we work to find creative ways to address the challenge?  Will any candidates talk about it?  Will anyone make it a key part of their political campaigning? We talk about the wealthy. We talk about the middle class. But there is an eerie silence regarding the poor, and we intend to change that.  

Last night I was in Wilmington, listening to practitioners who work among the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the jobless. I heard about certified nursing assistants living in homeless shelters.  And then I heard about a homeless shelter that was kept from opening its doors because of public political pressure. I heard of gross actions of environmental racism in a town that poisoned 600 acres of land. I heard about families who still use outdoor toilets, because they can't afford to hook on to water and sewer systems.  I heard about restricted covenants signed in 1938 by the McCall family that still impact economic development today.  The only way these race and class based acts toward the poor ever get public exposure is to shine the light of truth on them. 

            The Judeo-Christian faiths are built on a strong foundation. Beware of policies that hurt the poor.   The Old Testament calls out: 

Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,  to deprive the poor of their rights  and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

And the New Testament responds clearly:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

          The Good News is the news of systemic transformation for those who have been made poor by the breaches and brokenness of our society's structure.  The Good News is these ancient Judeo-Christian values are enshrined in our State Constitution: You must govern for the good of the whole.  These values represent the first principles of our state.  They provide the over-arching vision of the work of our Government.  We must, therefore, always ask: Are decisions made by those who would govern us made for the good of the whole?   Or are they being made for the good of a small set of special interests?   The NAACP has had a special interest for 102 years.  We are interested in the poor.

Individual charity alone will not address this problem.  The moral requirement of our Constitution and the moral underpinnings of the Biblical truths require more than a call to private charity.  They require a call to structural change and systemic reorientation.  Our second leg of the Tour of Truth and Hope will take activists, academics, and economists, to the places of poverty.  (Our first leg has created a surge of media and political discussion about the entrenched poverty in the Northeast quadrant.)  We realize that the media, and the politicians, do not pay much attention to those who live in poverty.  People who cannot come to the General Assembly on Jones Street. People who may never have an opportunity to sit at the table of public policy or in the boardrooms of private businesses.  People who have been essentially silenced in our public and political dialogue.

This problem of poverty did not just begin in 2008, when the Republicans were in the White House.  Nor did it just begin when the Democrats were in the White House in 2009.  No. Over 44 year ago, Dr. King begged us to look at it honestly.  He said America needed a Stimulus Plan 44 years ago! Dr. King's stimulus plan called for a "bottom-up" approach, not a "banker-down" approach. Wall Street cannot drive a society based on Justice. Capitalism cannot be driven crazy by greed.  If we ignore the poor, if we ignore those on the bottom, there will eventually be an implosion!

In fact we have been talking about this whole economic crisis wrong. The fact is, we've had a Silent Depression that has caught up with us. A political economist at the University of Maryland said, "What we're really beginning to experience," in a article called America Beyond Capitalism, "Is a process of slow decay, punctuated by a recurring economic crisis, one in which reforms achieve sporadic gains. But the long term trends of growing inequality, economic dislocation, failing democratic accountability, deepening poverty, ecological degradation, greater invasions of liberty and growing imprisonment especially of minorities, continues to slowly and quietly challenge the belief in the capacities and moral integrity of the overall system and its governing elite."

MIT Professor Otto Scharmer said, "There is a blind spot in American economic theory today...Our refusal to have an economic theory that looks and sees that we are all integrated, we all really need each other."

Dr. Martin Luther King said 40 years ago when you ignore the poor, one day the whole system will collapse and implode.  So on this Ash Wednesday we are reminded of the summons of Joel 2: "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain!"

There were 40 million poor people without health care before the crisis got public attention. There were 50-100 million people under-insured. There were millions and millions of people out of work.  Almost 20% of African-Americans were jobless BEFORE the crisis was public. Millions of poor children!  More than 52% of African-Americans who qualified for stable, low-rate loans, were illegally steered to predatory sub-prime loans before CNN discovered the crisis. More families across the state are falling into poverty and facing hardship. Last year, North Carolina's poverty rate-17.5 percent-was the highest it has been since 1981.  Poverty in North Carolina grew by 22 percent over the course of the Great Recession. The median household income in North Carolina dropped 12.3% since 2007. During the Great Recession, approximately 300,000 jobs were lost in North Carolina while the state's workforce continued to grow. As of November 2011, the jobs deficit in North Carolina stood at more than half of a million.

We will tour the Cape Fear River Valley during our Second Leg.  Pitt, Wayne, Sampson/Duplin, Pender New Hanover, Brunswick, Robeson and Cumberland Counties.  This is the southern half of the North Carolina Black Belt, where my ancestors helped liberate themselves from slavery, fighting with Abraham Galloway's Colored Brigades. And then, instead of getting 40 acres and a mule, got tricked into signing sharecropping contracts that immediately re-enslaved them.  But tens of thousands of free men and free women joined Mr. Lincoln's Republican Party, moved to the larger cities in the area we are touring, and built grassroots fusion movements with white farmers and small land-owners and businessmen in Wilmington, and Fayetteville and Goldsboro, and other growing urban areas.  For a brief period in the 1890's, they won both houses of the General Assembly, the Governorship, both US Senate seats and many county court houses. 

The former slave owners and their corporate allies, frightened by this initial effort to heal the breach, implemented a plan of homegrown terrorism in Wilmington, and other parts of southeastern NC.  Murdering scores of Black men on the streets of Wilmington, the largest city in the State, in November 1898, they engineered the only coup d'état in the United States. Thousands of African Americans and their white allies were traumatized by this divide and conquer tactics of the extremist and racist right-wing.  People were rousted from their beds, and were helped to get out of town and try to re-establish their lives in the poorest counties in the Southeast.  Hoke County is the home of the Leandro case, picked because 20 years ago it was one of the poorest counties in the State and still is. Native Americans and their African American brothers and cousins in Robeson County had a majority, but white folk created four school systems, to divide and conquer there.  And then we will end this leg of the tour Fayetteville, where military investment has never fully enforced Title VI's mandate to dismantle racism. 

So we need to get behind the data.  The data needs to be disaggregated with historical analysis, with rural-urban analysis, with Black, Native American, Latin American and European American analysis.  How were the poor people of the area divided?  How were they conquered?  Especially since the present Speaker in the People's House called on his constituents to develop a divide and conquer politics in North Carolina.

We will not put up with being divided.  We are a special interest group.  We have a special interest in God's Human Race.  We have seen it divided.  We are Repairers of the Breach.  All God's Children are Precious.  They are all Special.  And we have a special interest in them.  We are fresh off bringing over ten thousand diverse peoples to Raleigh ten days ago.  We are fresh off talking with national media about the First Leg of our Truth and Hope Tour.

This problem is complex. It has many faces that we must dare to see if we're going to dream and have a hopeful vision to do better.  Maybe then we can develop a Marshall-type plan for North Carolina and model a progressive agenda for the nation. 

We will make the poor visible and lift the silence that surrounds this region.  We will challenge those who make unjust laws, those who issue oppressive decrees.  We will protest those who deprive the poor of their rights.  And we will never turn back.  We will shine the light of truth on our sisters and brothers of all races and creeds, who have been the victims of those who issue their oppressive decrees.    Forward Together, Not One Step Back.

###

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Coalition to Protect All NC Families Leads “NC Baptists Against Amendment One” Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jen Jones, (919) 260-5906, jen@equalitync.org

Ryan Rowe, (919) 274-3203, ryan@protectncfamilies.org

COALITION TO PROTECT ALL NC FAMILIES LEADS “NC BAPTISTS AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE” CONFERENCE

Charlotte, N.C. – Protect All NC Families, the coalition effort to defeat Amendment One on the N.C. primary ballot on May 8, 2012, will join other local and national organizations in leading “NC Baptists Against Amendment One: Justice, Equality and Personal Freedom,” from Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., February 25, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event is a part of the national Many Voices, One Love campaign sponsored by the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB), the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA), and the Alliance of Baptists.

WHEN: Saturday, February 25, 2012 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: Myers Park Baptist Church 1900 Queens Rd Charlotte, NC 28207-2582

WHAT: “NC Baptists Against Amendment One: Justice, Equality & Personal Freedom”

The February 25 event, the first of three planned events in the Many Voices, One Love campaign, is focused on Amendment One, which would ban legal recognitions for all unmarried couples in North Carolina. Along with the national groups named above, representatives from The Human Rights Campaign, and the Faith and Justice Servant Leadership Group of Myers Park Baptist Church join The Coalition to Protect NC Families in planning this Queen City event.

The day will feature an hour-long panel discussion (9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.) that touches on the many reasons Amendment One is dangerous for North Carolina and against fundamental Baptist beliefs; as well as workshops to train others how to share their stories and start conversations on the issues.

Those interested in attending NC Baptists Against Amendment One: Justice, Equality and Personal Freedom should register by February 20 at www.ManyVoicesOneLove.com. Admission is a suggested donation of $10 per person. All money goes toward the campaign to defeat Amendment One. All are welcome to participate.

###

Protect All NC Families (protectncfamilies.org) is a broad coalition of state and national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) and human rights groups, faith organizations, communities of color, nonpartisan organizations, and business & community leaders, coming together for one purpose: to defeat Amendment One on the NC primary ballot on May 8, 2012.

The Marriage fundie starting to Organize here in NC..

Yes a bit late, one would have thought that these bigots would have been fully ready for action after 8 years of trying to get this on the ballot. Yet they aren’t ready..

I received the following email to day,via one of my sock puppet account I used to follow these jerks.

Fullscreen capture 2232012 125102 PM.bmp

It seem they might have some folks willing to put their faces to the cause, but they need to identify how they can help the main bigots who hide in offices all day.. 

However, while EqualityNC, ProtectNC and Racetotheballot are focusing on the West and central and now Eastern NC, these Fundie have all ready been working in the East..

422550_383709814976997_335527336461912_1706674_1976323885_n

this photo is from VOTE for Marriage NC album title Visiting Bertie & Hertford County

The Eastern parts of NC must not be ignored by our equality group..

We must now take our message to the folks in the east, simply because we will need their votes too..

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

What’s Wrong with this Photo?

Debate

NC: Bigot Lobbyist Tami Fitzgerald thinks she the bomb

This pass Monday Wake County Commissioners voted on a Resolution to support NC Constitutional Amendment 1, that will be voted on this May 8th.

The called for action was launch on Sunday by many tweeters and Bloggers. The commissioners weren’t excepting such a large turn out.. Twenty four people spoke concerning the Resolution.. 23 against and 1 for it.

The one for it was a paid Lobbyist Tami Fitzgerald who work with NC4Marriage and the NC Family Policy Council and a few other bigoted groups in NC.

The Resolution was were by the nephew of the Late Jessie Helms,yes I was shock to learn this , we simply can’t afford more Helms anti-every thing rhetoric. Chairman Paul Coble the writer of the Resolution and who have hope to go to US Congress this November, didn’t look at the speakers while they spoke nor allow a roll call vote. The Resolution pass on party lines..

Tami and her bigoted groups thinks this is a major win, since her group have just started their campaign for Amendment 1, while those oppose this amendment start back in October of 2012.

The anti-gay group had this to say about Wake Resolution,

“We applaud the Wake County Board of Commissioners for promoting civic participation of citizens, and especially for standing with the majority of North Carolinians, who support and understand the importance of preserving and protecting marriage in the State Constitution,” said Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council.

With one small win they have taken to their twitter accounts, by tweeting the following.

MS Tami has to remember this a battle that NC LGBT and Allies are hoping to win.. We will not go quietly in to the night and let these backward bigots tell us how and who to love..

So lets rock this vote, if you are not register to vote, Please do so, see  you at the polls, and vote against this harmful ballot measure this May 8.

Gov. Perdue Announces 2,000 Additional NC Pre-K Slots

Investment in Education Will Benefit Children, Families Across NC

Gov. Bev Perdue announced this morning that her administration will create 2,000 additional slots this year in NC Pre-K classrooms across North Carolina. 

Gov. Perdue has identified $9.3 million that will allow the additional at-risk 4-year-olds to attend NC Pre-K. 

“NC Pre-K is a nationally recognized, academic program that helps prepare children to succeed in kindergarten, throughout school and in life,” Gov. Perdue said. “This additional investment in our children will pay big dividends for all North Carolina because these children will be less likely to fall behind and drop out later in life.”

The 2,000 additional slots represent the number of children that could be served immediately with available funding. The children would attend NC Pre-K from mid-March through mid-August, at which point, they will enter kindergarten. Local administrators have a process in place to determine which children will be placed in Pre-K programs.

Gov. Perdue has advocated expanding NC Pre-K as the General Assembly’s budget cut funding and reduced the number of slots available to at-risk four-year-olds. In July, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning issued an order in which he said that “[t]he State of North Carolina shall not deny any eligible at-risk four year old admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program (NCPK).” The Judge also directed the state to “provide the quality services of the NCPK to any eligible four year old that applies.”

Gov. Perdue had previously identified a fiscally responsible first step toward implementing the judge’s order that would have served an additional 6,300 children without raising taxes or making further cuts to education. The General Assembly has not acted on the Governor’s recommendations.

“All children in North Carolina, regardless of where they live, deserve a chance at a successful future and we know that NC Pre-K changes lives,” Gov. Perdue said. “We have one shot to give these children the benefit of Pre-K. They can’t wait, and we can’t either.”

Research by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC-CH has shown that children who attended NC Pre-K have significantly higher end-of-grade test scores in 3rd grade than similar children who did not have the benefit of the program.  

Each year, approximately 67,000 at-risk four year olds in NC are eligible for the program. Current funding provides service for approximately 24,700 children.

The additional funding for the 2,000 new slots will come from child care subsidy funds on a one-time basis to meet the urgent need of at-risk children who are not currently served by NC Pre-K.

Rep Renee Ellmers has a primary Challenger

A Broadway woman has filed to Challenge Ellmers this May 8 primary, the NC 2nd US House District.

Sonya Holmes of Holmes Poultry said her interest in politics increased after Siler City’s41579_349737878390974_1861271196_n Townsend poultry plant closed its doors last year.

Her pledge to the people of the 2nd Congressional District of NC,

I pledge to you that I will be accountable to you THE PEOPLE and not the special interest or big business.  I will provide you with HONESTY and clarity about the issues that concern you.  I do know how this can be made to work for all of us but I need your help and support at the polls to put the plan into action.

We must put average citizens in legislature and remove the people that don't understand our struggles of everyday life.  We must have people in these positions that want to serve the people.  Yes, this will be uncomfortable and a lot of hard work but not nearly as bad as what our young men and women are asked to face everyday in the service to their country.

Learn more about Sonya Homes visit her site by clicking here..

To see where she stands on the issues click here.  also you can find her on Facebook,

NC NAACP and Partners Announce Second Leg of Tour to Put a Face on Poverty in Southeastern NC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 21, 2012

For More Information:     Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

           Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Legal Redress Coordinator, 919-682-4700   

Announcing the Second Leg of the Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty in North Carolina: Southeastern NC

The NC NAACP, UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, NC Justice Center, NCCU Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change and the AARP of North Carolina will announce the second leg of the Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty in NC, traveling this time to Southeastern North Carolina, at a news conference in Durham on Wednesday at 10 AM.

The news conference will take place on the 3rd floor of the NC Institute of Minority Economic Development building at 114 W Parrish Street, Durham, NC 27701 on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 10 AM.

The Truth and Hope, Putting a Face on Poverty Tour is exposing the painful stories and faces behind the often "bloodless statistics" of poverty. On the first leg, we heard about:  

  • A long-ignored crisis of electric bills that are tearing apart the delicate safety net for scores of families.
  • 26 beds available for a homeless population of 1,000 in Elizabeth City
  • A community in Tyrrell County who fought 16 years for a sewage system while living with unsafe drinking water and soil full of septic overflow.
  • A couple who both had jobs, but still were on the brink of homelessness with the low wages, high utilities and poor housing they faced in Washington.
  • A recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill who faced poverty and unemployment if she followed her dream to return to her hometown of Rocky Mount and serve her community.
  • Local officials in Washington County telling the stories of joblessness and poverty rates in small towns that reach nearly 40%.

These are a just a few of the stories we heard among the hundreds of people we met with over the course of two days in January.  

On Friday March 2nd and Saturday March 3rd, the Tour will continue in southeastern North Carolina, a region scarred by a history of racial violence and class division that has hindered economic vitality in the region and left people, generation after generation, battling deeply entrenched poverty.

Locations will include Sampson, Pender, New Hanover, Robeson, Cumberland, Pitt and Wayne Counties.

###

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Race to the Ballots comes to Rocky Mount

by James Smith and David Cappel.

Tonight a few small groups united for the same cause, to fight against the upcoming “Amendment 1” ballot initiative. The meet up was hosted by Rocky Mount’s local chapter of Pflag and UU Church.

It began with a social time while waiting for Jen and her entourage to arrive. The meeting started with the usual Pflag agenda and introductions. They briefly touched on their group business and afterward an invitation to attend their first major fund-raiser (the not the official name) called “Jimmy Creech event,” then the first guest speaker took the podium.

Jake Gellar-Goad, from Democracy NC had come from Durham to share his’ group upcoming events, and to show his support of Equality NC and his opposition to Amendment 1. Short and very to the point he turned the podium over the Jen Jones of ENC and Race to the Ballot runner.

She is putting a face to the NC equality movement. She has drive and ambition that is unequaled. She is risking permanent knee damage—for her cause.

Jen began with definition of the defense of Marriage Act and how that same definition not only affects us but would affect others in future battles with NC Legislative. She already anticipates some of the pitfalls ahead if the Amendment passes. But like she says “if I can get my mother to understand and vote no on this Amendment—then any of us should be able to talk others about it. If you leave this place and talk to ten people—by the time May 8th comes around—voters will understand what this Amendment is really about and vote against it or if nothing else ,not vote for it.”

There was some Q&A; one lady asking if would be beneficial to seek a Resolution Opposing the Amendment from the Rocky Mount City Council. Another person ask, “if we did vote down this amendment and got the marriage law over turn, could the Legislature bring up another type of Amendment to block Same-sex Marriage again? She reply “that they, but doubt if they would have resources to get it past.”

Slide show below

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

COALITION TO PROTECT ALL NC FAMILIES LEADS “NC BAPTISTS AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE” CONFERENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jen Jones, (919) 260-5906, jen@equalitync.org

Ryan Rowe, (919) 274-3203, ryan@protectncfamilies.org

COALITION TO PROTECT ALL NC FAMILIES LEADS “NC BAPTISTS AGAINST AMENDMENT ONE” CONFERENCE

Charlotte, N.C. – Protect All NC Families, the coalition effort to defeat Amendment One on the N.C. primary ballot on May 8, 2012, will join other local and national organizations in leading “NC Baptists Against Amendment One: Justice, Equality and Personal Freedom,” from Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., February 25, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event is a part of the national Many Voices, One Love campaign sponsored by the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB), the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA), and the Alliance of Baptists.

WHEN: Saturday, February 25, 2012 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: Myers Park Baptist Church 1900 Queens Rd Charlotte, NC 28207-2582

WHAT: “NC Baptists Against Amendment One: Justice, Equality & Personal Freedom”

The February 25 event, the first of three planned events in the Many Voices, One Love campaign, is focused on Amendment One, which would ban legal recognitions for all unmarried couples in North Carolina. Along with the national groups named above, representatives from The Human Rights Campaign, and the Faith and Justice Servant Leadership Group of Myers Park Baptist Church join The Coalition to Protect NC Families in planning this Queen City event.

The day will feature an hour-long panel discussion (9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.) that touches on the many reasons Amendment One is dangerous for North Carolina and against fundamental Baptist beliefs; as well as workshops to train others how to share their stories and start conversations on the issues.

Those interested in attending NC Baptists Against Amendment One: Justice, Equality and Personal Freedom should register by February 20 at www.ManyVoicesOneLove.com. Admission is a suggested donation of $10 per person. All money goes toward the campaign to defeat Amendment One. All are welcome to participate.

###

Protect All NC Families (protectncfamilies.org) is a broad coalition of state and national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) and human rights groups, faith organizations, communities of color, nonpartisan organizations, and business & community leaders, coming together for one purpose: to defeat Amendment One on the NC primary ballot on May 8, 2012.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Wake County Pass it Marriage Resolution 4 to 3

Wake County commissioners have just endorsed Amendment One, the forthcoming ballot item which amends the state constitution to state that the only domestic legal union that is valid or recognized in North Carolina is marriage between one man and one woman.

How nice to Wake County Commissioner the LGBT community is nothing more than unheard taxpayers with no rights or a voice.. 

The vote came along party lines, with Republicans Paul Coble, Tony Gurley, Phil Matthews and Joe Bryan supporting the motion and Democrats Erv Portman, James West and Betty Lou Ward opposing it.

What I want to know is why @PaulCobleNC prevented a roll call vote. This what I want to know.

However our very own Christian Lobbyist did you her job, she was the only one who spoke for the resolution..

"There's a lot of more voters in wake county support this amendment than the handful of activists in this room," said Fitzgerald, a registered lobbyist for several Christian and family causes.

Well  Ms Christian Bitch Fitzgerald, we will see if your are correct in May.. What will you little group for bigots do if we vote this Amendment down and then get the law overturn.. If this happen there will be nothing you can do then..

Many believe the only reason Paul Coble brought this motion is because he is in the GOP Primary for Congress… He is seeking a higher office…

the votes (not for sure, just a guess)

We would guess the vote was: Coble, Matthews, Gurley, Bryan - FOR. Ward, West, Portman - AGAINST. #WakeResolution Will confirm soon.
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/NC4Equality/status/171734573032554496
Sent via TweetDeck

Wake Resolution Pass

BREAKING: #WakeCounty Commissioners pass #WakeResolution supporting #Amendment1. Arrogance of @PaulCobleNC refuses roll call vote.
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/NC4Equality/status/171734206643310592
Sent via TweetDeck

Wake Co. Resolution

@huslage - Over 100 folks were in attendance. 23 spoke against the #WakeResolution. 1 spoke in favor.
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/tylerjmccall/status/171726750252929026
Sent via TweetDeck

Tweet forwarded by @JTS72

Remember folks: @PaulCobleNC is running for US Congress this year. Remember that 13th district. #WakeResolution
Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/tylerjmccall/status/171719566530052097
Sent via TweetDeck

So true

The ONLY pro-amendment speaker who has spoken so far is paid to be there. Most speakers are against it. People power!  #WakeResolution

Tami Fitzgerald the only one for Wake Resolution

Tami Fitzgerald now sharing states that perform well in business that have "marriage amendments." #WakeResolution

Gov. Perdue Appoints Jonathan Womer as Chief Information Officer

Gov. Bev Perdue today named Jonathan Womer as Chief Information Officer for North Carolina.

Womer, currently deputy director for management in the Office of State Budget and Management, replaces Gerald L. “Jerry” Fralick, who has spent more than 30 years as an IT professional for the federal and state governments.

"Jonathan will bring to this new role the same quick intellect and incisive analysis that have made him indispensable to the managing of North Carolina’s finances," Gov. Perdue said. "And I want to commend Jerry for helping steer us through some of the most difficult days and some of the fastest technological changes in the state’s history."

Womer has spent the last seven years with OSBM, most recently overseeing the areas of revenue projections, regulatory analysis, strategic planning, audit, program evaluation and IT management. He led the staff of Governor Perdue’s Budget Reform and Accountability Commission and directed the Governor’s NC OpenBook initiative, which provided transparency to state contracts and spending. He previously worked in the White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.  At OMB Jonathan helped lead the implementation of citizen facing projects including IRS FreeFile, Recreation.gov, and USA.gov.

Womer received his master’s degrees from the Ford School of Public Policy and the School of Information at the University of Michigan.  He completed his undergraduate work at Duke University.

"This is both an honor and a terrific opportunity to expand on North Carolina’s innovations in information technology," Womer said, "and to increase state government’s efficiency and improve how we respond to the people we serve."

Fralick was named CIO in September 2009. He has led the Governor’s initiative on consolidating IT operations to increase efficiency and has successfully trimmed his agency’s budget in order to reduce the rates charged to other state agencies for IT services.

"After several years of much success in continuing consolidation, reducing ITS expenditures, and working with the vendor community, I am moving on to pursue other opportunities," Fralick said.

Before taking the CIO post, Fralick was president and owner of JFCS, Inc., a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business that provided marketing services to IT companies.   Prior to JFCS, Fralick was CIO of the Office of Justice Programs for the U.S. Department of Justice and has more than 30 years experience working for the federal government in Washington, D.C.  He was also the first elected chairperson for the Federal Grants Executive Board, overseeing efforts of grants consolidation within the federal government.  He received his Bachelor’s degree in economics from LeMoyne College in New York and his Master’s degree in computers and management of information technology from American University in Washington, D.C.

Petition to amend North Carolina hate crime laws

 in response to attack on two lesbians: "On February 11, 2012 Sarah Nordstrom and Erin Johnston were at a fast food restaurant where they were verbally harassed by one male and two females based on the perception of their sexual orientation.

Wake Co. Board of Commissioners Meeting Agenda

The meeting starts at 2 pm, we need to be there.. Local citizens should sign up to speak out/against  this Resolution, it the 19th item on the agenda.

I can’t I don’t live in wake county.. Local members of our community should show up and let them heard from you.. We must stop this..

Meeting Time: Monday, 2/20, 2pm

Meeting Location: Wake County Courthouse, 7th floor, Room 700

Public Comment: Sign up before the meeting.

Update

from Neighbors for Equality,

The resolution is being introduced by Republican Paul Coble (@PaulCobleNC), Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. Coble is running for US Congress in the 13th Congressional District this year.

CONTACT WAKE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

E-mail the Wake County Commissioners and tell them to vote against the resolution this afternoon endorsing Amendment One.

Paul Coble | Chair | District 7
Paul.Coble@wakegov.com

Phil Matthews | Vice Chair | District 2
Phil.Matthews@wakegov.com

Joe Bryan | District 1
Joe.Bryan@wakegov.com

Tony Gurley | District 3
Tony.Gurley@wakegov.com

Ervin Portman | District 4
Ervin.Portman@wakegov.com

James West | District 5
James.West@wakegov.com

Betty Lou Ward | District 6
bward@wakegov.com

TWITTER COVERAGE

We will be covering the Wake County resolution throughout the day today and will also live tweet the Amendment One portion of the meeting this afternoon. Follow #WakeResolution for live updates.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Wake County Resolution supporting Amendment one

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF VOTER PARTICIPATION IN THE MAY 8, 2012 VOTE
TO AMEND THE NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION PROTECTING MARRIAGE
WHEREAS, in 1995 the North Carolina legislature enacted NCGS 51-1.2, which
states that Marriages, whether created by common law, contracted, or performed
outside of North Carolina, between individuals of the same gender are not valid in North
Carolina; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress enacted 1 USCS Section 7, which
states “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation,
or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United
States, the word "marriage" means only a legal union between one man and one
woman as husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the
opposite sex who is a husband or a wife”; and

WHEREAS, in 2011 the North Carolina General Assembly allowed the people of
this great State the right to vote on whether or not to amend the North Carolina
Constitution to preserve marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina is the only state in the South that has not protected
marriage in its constitution; and

WHEREAS, every state in the country that has allowed the people to vote, 30 in
all, has protected marriage in its constitution as the union of one man and one woman,
including North Carolina’s bordering states of Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and South
Carolina; and

WHEREAS, the Wake County Commissioners encourage the people of Wake
County and North Carolina to voice their opinion by exercising their right to vote; and
WHEREAS, the amendment reads:

“Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union
that shall be valid or recognized in this State. This section does not prohibit a private
party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section
prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.”
;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Wake County Board of
Commissioners endorses the Marriage Amendment to the North Carolina Constitution
which states that the only domestic legal union that is valid or recognized in North
Carolina is marriage between one man and one woman; and

BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED that the Wake County Board of Commissioners
encourages voter participation on this important issue to be voted upon on May 8, 2012.
This the 20th day of February, 2012.
___________________________________
Paul Y. Coble, Chairman
Wake County Board of Commissioners
ATTEST:
________________________________
Susan J. Banks
Clerk to the Wake County Board of Commissione

U.S. Representative David Price's Town Hall Meetings Feb. 20

Congressman David Price will be holding two town hall meetings this month--the public is encouraged to attend. There is no admission cost or priority--first come, first seated. Space is limited, so arrive early.

Wake County Town Hall Meeting

When: Monday, February 20, 2012 from 5:15

PM 6:30 PM

Where: Cardinal Gibbons High School

Theater

1401 Edwards Mill Road,

Raleigh NC

Orange County Town Hall Meeting

When: Monday, February 20, 2012 from 7:30

PM 8:45 PM

Where: Southern Human Services Center

Board Room

2501 Homestead Rd.,

Chapel Hill, NC 27516

(From Rep. Price's letter announcing these meetings):

Our Priorities and Values

Dear Friend,

On February 13, President Obama will submit his 2013 budget proposal to Congress. The budget is far more than just a set of spending policies; it is a statement of our priorities and values as a nation. As the President said in his State of the Union address, now is a "make-or-break moment" for our middle class and those trying to reach it, and I'll be looking for the President to prioritize three things in his budget request:

1. Continuing the economic recovery

2. Investing in the American people and our future

3. Returning to fiscal balance with a plan that is fair and comprehensive

As your representative in Congress, I have worked to strengthen and sustain our economic recovery in the Triangle and around the country. The 2009 Recovery Act provided a shot in the arm for our state. It kept thousands of teachers and first responders on the job, moved us closer to high-speed rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte, expanded the statewide broadband internet network, improved our energy grid, and helped fund many other infrastructure projects. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, I helped secure $41 million in Recovery Act funds for the new National Guard headquarters in Raleigh, which will be dedicated later this week. I am proud that our state's citizen soldiers and first responders will finally have a headquarters befitting their critical homeland security and national defense missionand equally pleased that the building created or sustained 3,400 jobs along the way!

We've now seen 23 consecutive months of private sector job growth and 3.45 million new private sector jobs, but we cannot be content until every American worker who wants a job can find one. That is why I have been pushing for passage of the President's American Jobs Act. I am hopeful that he will include elements of the bill in his budget, and there are other creative approaches to job creation that deserve quick passage. One such example is the "21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act," which I have cosponsored, to put people to work repairing and rebuilding public schools across the country. And there are many more.

As we act to accelerate the recovery in the near term, we cannot neglect the long-term investments that are the major drivers of economic success: education, innovation, research, and transportation. The point isn't to spend more, but to spend our limited resources more wisely, so that we can secure the promise of America for all rather than just the wealthy few. The President's budget should call for Congress to take the steps needed to renew the American dream and revive the middle class.

The President has also issued a bold call for a fairer, simpler tax code, which will be essential to balancing our nation's budget. Warren Buffet's secretary -- Debbie Bosanek, who attended the speech -- should not pay a greater percentage of her income in taxes than her billionaire boss. Nor should seniors, or students, or families working hard to get by. This isn't "class warfare" -- it's common sense. We can protect tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires or we can invest in our people and plot a course to fiscal balance, but we cannot do both. I believe the choice we should make is clear.

On these matters and many others demanding our attention, I will continue to work with the President and with colleagues to chart a positive course. During the previous three years, we have reformed health care, reined in Wall Street, expanded access to education, and pulled the nation out of the Great Recession. But we have more to do. I am hopeful that Democrats and Republicans in Congress will come together in good faith to work with the President to advance the programs outlined in his budget. Where there are disagreements, I am hopeful they too will further a robust discussion of the priorities and values that are best for our country at this critical time. As this debate continues, I hope you will keep in touch to let me know your views.

Sincerely,

David Price

Member of Congress

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