crowbar317's blog

Perhaps this is a snap decision. Perhaps this is a silly decision. But I am announcing this now and will stand by it. If there is no Democrat on the ticket for NC House District 49 in 2014 I will run for that office.

I realize it is two years out and perhaps another and better candidate will emerge. But if that doesn't happen, I'm in. We will see what happens.

Darren Staley

It's looking pretty ugly right now. For the life of me I don't understand what is going on. I read a poll the other day that said a majority was against banning civil unions, yet when they were told that Amendment One would in fact ban civil unions, that same majority still planned to vote for the damned thing. Hell, ten percent of those polled thought a For vote would legalize gay marriage.

Anyway I'm not giving up. My personal goal was to get 20 Against votes and at this point I am several short of that. I actually had a small house party Saturday night and tried to sway some votes. It did not turn out well. After pleading what I thought was a pretty convincing case I wound up calling several of my guests bigots. But only after they insisted they were voting Yes regardless.

Maybe this is a stupid question but I have no clue. I know that churches cannot advocate candidates for office and keep their tax exempt status. So why can every church I pass post signs and vans and such supporting Amendment One? Is it because it is state and not federal?

I know of at least one church that posted a sign to Vote Against. That sign was reported stolen. That said, I would prefer churches keep out of it either way. Just wondering what the law says and why it is different in this case.

Well my wife and I voted today. It seemed quick and painless, almost fun even. But we did not think about the long-term consequences. We voted against Amendment One, you see, and can already feel the sanctity of our marriage slipping away. I ordered Legends of the Fall on Netflix and put Logo in my favorite channels lineup. My wife, the poor dear, is learning that peeing standing up isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Tomorrow will be the most difficult part. Not only do we have to tell the kids that we're gay but we also have to set aside hours indoctrinating them into the gay lifestyle. Then there's my Dad. He voted against as well and will have to give up his bachelor lifestyle to go out and get gay married.

Luckily this is happening all across the state so it will be easy to find partners to gay marry. In the meantime I'll live to live with the cruel fact that my wife is now open to lesbianism yet that no longer interests me as it once did.

Hello BlueNC,

I have a good friend in Portland. She is a single mother having a tough go. So while I generally don't use this forum for such things, I'd kind of like to ask charitable readers to donate a few bucks via PayPal to taradublin@gmail.com. I would consider it a personal favor.

Darren

Oh those Republicans and their talking points. This morning I heard a GOP strategist on cable news claim that Republicans could not be blamed for the economic situation because the Democrats "control the White House and the Senate."

First, this is stupid. You see a bill must pass both the Senate AND the House before the president can sign it into law. Who controls the House? The Republicans, who have this far done little more in the form of passing bills than naming post offices or affirming already existing law.

Second, this is bullshit. Yes, the Democrats have a Senate majority in the traditional sense of the word, fifty-one percent or more. But the Senate has its own tradition, one that allows 40 Senators to force 60 votes to pass legislation. And this current crop of Republicans is using that tactic on any legislation more meaningful than, say, naming a post office or affirming already existing law.

Wow, it looks like the president will be in my backyard on Monday. Not literally, but pretty close. Last time I checked the numbers Millers Creek was about 60% Republican and is right in the heart of Foxx country. I can't wait to get out and show my support for the jobs bill.

Color me excited!!

There is a lot not to like about the Affordable Care Act. As an advocate of single-payer there is no reason for me to rehash them all here. But I would like to share a personal success story of the bill.

A few months ago my wife began having severe issues. I don't know what her exact diagnosis was called (mainly because it was made throughout multiple ER visits), but it was certain that she needed some form of uterine surgery.

My wife did not have insurance. This is not because she did not want to carry insurance. It was because, while her employer provided insurance, they did not offer it to part time employees. Which she was. Even though she worked 30+ and many times forty hours per week. and of course no private insurer would touch her because now she had the dreaded preexisting condition.

Tonight I was listening to my friend Kelly Carlin's podcast, Waking from the American Dream. Toward the end her guest, David Feldman, raised a very interesting question: would liberals be as upset if McCain had won the election and we were in the same state we are in now?

I think that perfectly sums up the enthusiasm gap and dissatisfaction. We expected so much more from Obama. We tend to overlook things like the recession being worse than expected, the 2010 GOP wave and obstructionism, and the real victories Obama did gain.

This is not to say that Obama did everything right and should get a pass. But I do think we should ask ourselves how much we over-expected compared with how much he under-preformed.

Anyway, this is one part thought experiment and one part plug for Kelly's podcast, which I highly recommend.

According to my account profile, I have been a member of BlueNC for well over five years. A lot has happened in that half-decade. I got my Bachelor's degree. I tried grad school (blah). I worked on various political campaigns in a variety of positions. I moved into a nice new home. I celebrated my ten year wedding anniversary and my son started high school.

I also saw the 2006 Congressional wave election, the historic 2008 election, and the 2010 backlash election. But, especially in the past few years, I just watched. I watched as the Democrats caved. I watched as the Republicans held the economy hostage in order to score political points. I watched because I felt disgusted and angry and betrayed.