If I lived in North Carolina, I’d be preparing to vote, “No,” tomorrow on Amendment One. The ballot proposition would not just enshrine the traditional definition of marriage into the Tar Heel State’s constitution, it also “would ban any other type of ‘domestic legal union’ such as civil unions and domestic partnerships.”  Draconian though the amendment is, it does leave some wiggle room to same-sex couples with this language:

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.

That said, I believe voters should defeat this amendment. It prevents the state’s elected legislature from responding to changing social conditions.

Defeat of the amendment would not lead to state recognition of same-sex marriages — or even same-sex civil unions.  North Carolina would continue to recognize as marriages only unions between one man and one woman.  That definition would just not be part of its constitution; future legislatures (and even the current one) would simply remain free to consider means to provide benefits to same-sex couples.

From what I have read, largely through Pam Spaulding‘s Facebook links, it seems that opponents of Amendment One, have done a far better job than those opposing California’s Prop 8 of enlisting business groups in the campaign against the ballot measure. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, for example, released this statement last month:

North Carolina’s proposed Amendment 1 is bad for business. It will interfere with employer’s ability to recruit talent and their right to provide competitive benefits to their employees. It also signals to employers and employees that North Carolina is not welcoming to the diverse, creative workforce that we need to compete in the global economy. We should not do anything that diminishes any corporation’s interest in locating or remaining in North Carolina.

Exactly.  A Bank of America executive (B of A is based in Charlotte) feared the amendment, if passed, would have a “disastrous effect“: (more…)

Last month, we reported that a government inspector forced a 4-year-old to eat a school lunch rather than the nutritious fare her mother had packed for her.

This month we learn that the “teacher involved in ‘supplementing’ a preschooler’s lunch with chicken nuggets in Hoke County has been suspended indefinitely.”  (H/t:  Glenn Reynolds.)

Score one for the new media?  Or just to a good mother standing up to the school system?

No wonder Bruce left North Carolina:

A mother in Hoke County complains her daughter was forced to eat a school lunch because a government inspector determined her home-made lunch did not meet nutrition requirements. In fact, all of the students in the NC Pre-K program classroom at West Hoke Elementary School in Raeford had to accept a school lunch in addition to their lunches brought from home.

NC Pre-K (before this year known as More at Four) is a state-funded education program designed to “enhance school readiness” for four year-olds.

The mother, who doesn’t wish to be identified at this time, says she made her daughter a lunch that contained a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice and potato chips. A state inspector assessing the pre-K program at the school said the girl also needed a vegetable, so the inspector ordered a full school lunch tray for her. While the four-year-old was still allowed to eat her home lunch, the girl was forced to take a helping of chicken nuggets, milk, a fruit and a vegetable to supplement her sack lunch.

Read the whole thing. Sounds like a pretty responsible Mom, packing a nutritious banana along with fruit juice for her daughter, yet a government inspector has determined that he knows better than the girl’s own mother what’s good for her.

Bruce, I fear that the Tar Heel State is not the only American jurisdiction where state busybodies inspectors believe themselves better equipped than a child’s parent to look out for his welfare.  And all too many laws give them the power to act on that belief.

It’s about time we start repealing the laws that empower such “inspectors.”  And not just at the state level.

FROM THE COMMENTS:  Louise B looked at an image of what the state mandate the little girl eat and found that, well, the Nanny State does not know best:

If you look at the picture of the food the state deemed appropriate, you’ll see there isn’t a vegetable on that tray either. They show corn which has the same calorie level as a slice of bread. Corn and bread are both considered carbohydrate–and thus neither of them are a vegetable.

Just because the company that operates these voting machines has direct connections to corrupt Democrats in the state should be no reason to connect the “auto-Democrat” vote problems to tampering, right?  Nahhh.  (Email below from NC Republican Party)

The North Carolina Republican Party has been diligently investigating problems associated with voting machines, in particular iVotronic touch-screen voting machines in our state. These types of machines are in use in 35 of North Carolina’s 100 counties.  

Reports began to surface last week of voter’s intentions not being properly registered by these machines.   The specific incidents that first came to our attention were those who were attempting to cast a straight-ticket Republican vote but the machine was verifying that a straight-ticket Democratic vote had been registered. Fortunately, these initial voters were diligent in the verification process and after repeated attempts, called the problem to the attention of poll workers who assisted in making sure that the voter’s intentions were properly tallied.

Reports of similar problems began to come in from other parts of the state and at the time of this correspondence, (5pm October 28) we now have complaints from the counties New Hanover, Craven, Cumberland, Rutherford, Lenoir and Mecklenburg.   I want to stress that there may indeed be similar issues in other counties using these same machines. To date, all documented voter issues involve attempts to cast votes for Republicans and at least one voter was a registered Democrat who was attempting to vote a straight-ticket Republican ballot.

Attorneys working on behalf of the NCGOP have been in contact with the State Board of Elections as early as last week in hopes of rectifying this issue and clarifying the causes of these problems. To date, it is our opinion that sufficient effort or progress has not been made by the State Board of Elections to ensure the integrity of the voting process.  

For example, on Wednesday, October 27 the State Board of Elections conducted a informational session to instill voter confidence in Craven County, one of the first to report these problems.   Concerned citizens came to hear information on the documented reports of machines engaging in what is known as “vote flipping”, registering for the opposite party or candidate than the voters intention. Instead they were given a remedial demonstration as to the operation of the touch-screen machine.

When one citizen expressed frustration about the lack of answers to the obvious concerns of the majority in the room, he was told by the State Board of Elections official that she was only there to demonstrate the machine and if he didn’t like that, he could leave.

Just today [Thursday] in Craven County, two Republican poll workers were fired for talking to the media about the voting irregularities and what they claim was elections officials failure to properly address the issue.

Additional skepticism surrounds this situation due to the fact that the company responsible for the sale, distribution and maintenance of these machines has made headlines recently for questionable dealings in obtaining state contracts. Knowing that the ownership of the company in question, Printelect, has strong ties to the North Carolina Democratic Party and that the company itself holds a virtual monopoly on ballot printing and equipment maintenance for the state has only fueled suspicions.  

This morning [Thursday], NCGOP attorneys delivered a letter to the State Board of Elections demanding corrective action be taken immediately.  (a copy of that letter can be viewed here.)

Appearing that the State Board of Elections has no intentions of taking corrective action, the NCGOP is contemplating proceeding to Federal Court on Friday to seek appropriate action to ensure the validity of the voting process in North Carolina. A total of 65 counties in our state use paper ballots tabulated by optical scanners; universally considered to be highly accurate and efficient. It is not equitable that those voters leave the polling place with a higher level of confidence that the votes have been accurately recorded than those using touch-screen machines.

Make no mistake; the NCGOP will not stand idly by and watch one of the most important rights we hold as Americans become subject to at best, a random game of electronic chance and at worst, an effort to subvert the political process. 

Let’s hope the NCGOP gets on top of this.  This type of alleged tampering corrupts the confidence of those voters who expect the system is beyond reproach.   Why is it always that these machine glitches make automatic votes for the DEMOCRATS?  Funny that, eh?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

While everyone is talking about the race for the Senate seat in my (adopted) home state, no one is talking about the race in Bruce’s (adopted) home state. Well, maybe they should.  Even though all latest polls have incumbent Richard Burr’s margin in the double digits, if history is any guide, he won’t be returning to the Senate come January.

You see, not since Sam Ervin’s reelection in 1968 had an incumbent won election for that seat.  When Ervin retired, Robert Morgan succeeded him in 1974, only to be defeated by John East in 1980.  Republican Jim Broyhill tapped to replace East (when he took his own life) lost the seat in 1986 to Terry Sanford who, six years later, was ousted by Lauch Faircloth.  In 1998, John Edwards edged him out.  Six years later, Edwards chose to run for president rather than seek re-election.  Tapped as his party’s vice presidential nominee, Edwards lost the state as did his party’s Senate nominee, former (Bill) Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.  Richard Burr was the man who beat him.

Every election since the Democratic year of 1974, this Senate seat has switched parties.  Maybe the 2010 cycle will break that “curse.”

This Cycle’s Most Vulnerable Longtime House Democrat: John Spratt?

When Jim Geraghty asked a

Republican who’s watching the House races closely . . . whether there were any signs of old-guard House Democrats from deeply conservative, deeply Republican districts getting knocked off this cycle . . . , the one that jumped out most to him was 14-term incumbent John Spratt of South Carolina, who represents an R+7district and who faces a strong challenge from Mick Mulvaney. The GOP challenger released an internal poll showing him trailing by only two percentage points.

Read the whole thing.

Since publik skools don’t seem to teach the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of American liberty…then May 20, 1775 is certainly one date most folks probably haven’t heard of.

It just so happens that I live in Mecklenburg County, NC — the original home of American Independence. I’ve often wondered if fate somehow brought me here….

Here’s the story of Meck Dec:

Today’s a day when some people stop to celebrate a document that nobody can seem to find. This is Meck Dec Day. May 20, 1775 is the day when the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was said to be enacted here in Charlotte. It pre-dates the Declaration of Independence by more than a year. We here in North Carolina are so proud of the Meck Dec, we’ve even put the date of its alleged signing on the state flag.

We say alleged because nobody has ever actually found the Meck Dec. In fact, there’s no real evidence that it ever existed. Back in 1775, a rider named Capt. James Jack says he took the Meck Dec from Charlotte to the Continental Congress, but there’s no other documentation that he actually did it.

The day has arrived! The NASCAR Hall of Fame grand opening ceremonies are taking place in Uptown Charlotte as I type. PatriotPartner and I are thrilled to be here as a part of history for NASCAR and our city.

I’ll update things on the ground all day via my Twitter feed on our right-hand sidebar.

In the fall of 2008, as polls showed her chances for reelection diminishing with each passing day, then-Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-Inside the Beltway) decided to jump the shark, er, pull the “Godless Atheist” card. She started running ads across the Tarheel State (which she supposedly represented, but rarely visited) pointing out (quite accurately) that a leader of the Godless Americans held a “secret” fundraiser for her opponent Kay Hagan. That Democrat attended said fundraiser.

Now, while Mrs. Dole’s ads had more basis in fact than some of the stuff put out by the Coakley campaign in recent days, they betrayed a whiff of desperation. With those ads, she destroyed whatever chance the native North Carolinian had of reviving her candidacy.

Now, if the Massachusetts media were as harsh on Coakley’s negative ads as the Carolina media were on Dole’s, then the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s mailer alleging “that Scott Brown wants rape victims turned away from hospitals” could have a similar effect on Coakley’s candidacy.  A Brown spokeswoman called the ad “patently false“.  When a candidate is down (or declining in the polls) in the last lap of an electoral contest, such negative ads rarely have the intended effect.  Instead of scaring people away from the savaged candidate, they make them disgusted with the candidate firing the broadsides.

Of course, it would be the Bay State Democrats sponsoring the attack.  They want to deflect as much blame as they can away from the Coakley campaign itself

Whether or not this ad alone will prevent a Democrat from winning in this Democratic state is still far from clear.  It is just one of many areas were the Coakley campaign (and it allies) have blundered in recent days.  (I mean, heck, the late Senator Kennedy’s son kept calling the woman vying for the seat once held by his father, Daniel Webster and Charles Sumner Marcia.*)

* (more…)

Welcome Instapundit Readers!!

PatriotPartner has been trying to call Sen. Kay Hagan’s office today to express outrage over the radical “green jobs czar”, Van Jones.

However, while most of us are still working today — it appears our Senator from North Carolina has vanished.  All of her phone numbers are going unanswered, and the voicemail is full.  That says to me: “I don’t want to hear from my constituents.”

Congress has been out for a month and the President has been on vaca for 2 weeks.  The rest of America (well, those of us who still have jobs) are working our asses off.

Can’t we expect the same (or better) of our elected officials.

Don’t believe me?  Call Senator Hagan’s offices and see for yourself:

SENATOR KAY HAGAN

DC OFFICE: 202-224-6342

GREENSBORO, NC OFFICE: 336-333-5311

RALEIGH, NC OFFICE: 919-856-4630

Can someone please find my Senator? I hope she isn’t in Argentina.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

UPDATE (from Dan): Seems my Senator, Ma’am Barbara Boxer, is also on the missing persons list, though they do answer the phone at her LA office.

UPDATE (from JohnAGJ): My Senators in Virginia at least have been found. Jim Webb (D) refuses to hold town hall meetings, believing them to be unnecessary, while Mark Warner (D) seems to be trying to please everybody: giving Democrat talking points on the one hand, while claiming to oppose the House bill with the other.

Yikers. 

An overwhelming majority of North Carolina voters support amending the state constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, according to poll results released this week by the Civitas Institute.

The poll of 600 registered voters from Feb. 16-19 found that 76 percent support a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage, while 21 percent are opposed to such an amendment.

State law in North Carolina defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, but a measure being pushed in the state legislature calls for a constitutional amendment on the issue.

It is too bad they didn’t poll on the question of civil unions, too.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I just got off the phone (as a constituent) with the Washington, DC office of freshman US Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC).

I asked a simple question:  “Given the fact that Sen. Hagan voted to confirm Attorney General Holder added to his comments yesterday calling America a “nation of cowards”, and given the fact that if I dare speak about race in the workplace, I’d be fired under current employment laws….. Does Senator Hagan think I — an ordinary American — am a coward?”

The poor dude who answered the phone sputtered, then said he “figured she would not agree with Holder’s statement”.  But then put me on hold and after about 3 minutes came back with:  “Let me take your address so we can send you a response to Holder’s nomination since Sen. Hagan still has to answer a lot of letters about the subject.”

I don’t know, it is a pretty simple question:  Senator Hagan — do you think I’m a coward?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

First snow of season hits Charlotte – WCNC.com

Many schools, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg, are closed today and kids are ready to head outside to play in the snow.

Snow continues to fall across the area with the heaviest snowfall in Stanly, Anson and Richmond counties. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are closed with an optional teacher work day.

A Winter Storm Warning continues for the Piedmont until noon. The rest of the area is under a Winter Storm Watch.

Here’s the view of Global Warming from my house this morning….

Is Algore in the Carolinas today?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I hope everyone is enjoying the first day of 2009.  We are watching the Rose Bowl, rooting for Penn State, and have just finished a yummy New Year dinner cooked by PatriotPartner.

Saxby wanted some of the smoked pork, sauerkraut, black-eyed pea salad and collard greens.  He had to settle for a pig’s ear dog treat.

So, what are your New Year’s resolutions?   I have two:   exercise regularly and use the phone vs. text/email.

I’m keeping it simple.

Oh yeah, and MORE podcasts! (And more cowbell, of course)

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I keep forgetting to post these photos taken of PatriotManse by PatriotPartner.  We have the outside decorating down to a science and can complete it in one afternoon.   The Christmas Tree, on the other hand, requires two weekends and help from PatriotPhillyPal, Mark.

PS — It is close to 60 degrees here in Charlotte today.  And I just had to turn on the A/C. 

UPDATE:  Sun came out and the Queen City is approaching 70 degrees today.  Yee haw.

In the meantime….. Dude, Where’s My Global Warming?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Yes folks, it is true what you’ve been hearing the past couple of days.  We here in the Queen City are without gasoline.  Of course it is affecting the normal folks like me who just want to fill up the tank.  But it is also impacting schools (they are closed — buses can’t fill up), and law enforcement (imagine calling 911 and being told “we can’t come — no fuel).

Drivers across the Charlotte region are waiting patiently — and, in some cases, impatiently — for a promised large shipment of gasoline expected to reach the Queen City by afternoon.

But the lines and traffic disruptions that dominated on Thursday continue this morning, with people in some cases having parked at gas stations overnight, waiting near the pumps with their tanks on empty. As was the case yesterday, arguments and scuffles are breaking out as frustrations boil over.

At about 8:30 this morning, a woman in line at a Citgo station in Charlotte’s Plaza Midwood neighborhood told others in line she was saving a place for her father, who was on his way with gas cans. The station, at Parkwood Avenue and The Plaza, was selling only premium gas. The wait was about 45 minutes.

When I flew back into Charlotte-Douglas Airport last night, I went quickly to hunt out three gas stations I know about near the airport.  All pumps were closed and police were guarding the businesses.

PatriotMom reported witnessing yesterday a foreign invader (Florida tags) butt in front of the whole gas line at a station in South Carolina and people getting quite angry.

I had planned to get some photos of gas lines (they are miles long) today.  People are lining up at a station at there mere rumor that a tanker truck is on its way with petrol.

This photo is courtesy of the Charlotte Observer — but I don’t live very far from this gas station in South Charlotte.

However, my own gas tank is so low that I don’t have the luxury yet of going out until I know for sure there is a guarantee I’ll get gas.   I will take my camera with me though in case I have to sit in a long line later this weekend.

Why is all this happening in Charlotte this week, you may ask?

The shortage is caused by the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast this month, disrupting refinery production. Refineries had enough fuel in reserve to stock southeastern pumps for a week or so, but it ran out before the refineries could get back to full production.

The Charlotte area is served by the Colonial pipeline, which told Carolinas officials yesterday that they were delivering a large shipment of fuel to Spartanburg, S.C., and that an even larger shipment would arrive in Charlotte this afternoon. N.C. Gov. Mike Easley asked several oil companies to release additional supplies from Tennessee and Wilmington.

Remind me again why Democrats are opposed to drilling US oil reserves?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Really, you just cannot make this stuff up. 

Artives Freeman stunned the courtroom on the first day of his murder trial. He walked in dressed in a suit and tie — and covered in his own feces.

As lawyers, court staff and deputies watched in disbelief, Superior Court Judge James Morgan questioned the 24-year-old unemployed Charlotte man.

But Freeman — who was representing himself — never said a word.

The judge ordered Freeman committed to Dorothea Dixon Hospital in Raleigh for an evaluation to determine if he’s competent to stand trial.

Ooh, ooh.  Pick me to answer if he is competent!  Pick me!  Pick me!

I’m actually posting this early Saturday evening, but I didn’t want to bump the Hillary withdrawal piece that Dan wrote.  But I just HAD to pass this along from here in the Carolinas.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

The Queen City, or “Crown Town” as PatriotPartner would say, has an infux of visitors this weekend for the big one:  The Coca-Cola 600 tomorrow at Lowes Motor Speedway.   Concord will become the third largest city in North Carolina for a few hours tomorrow.   Cool, huh?

Anyway, to all of you visiting the crown jewel of the South — welcome!   We have great restaurants, awesome attractions, and the friendliest people this side of Sydney Australia.

As for tomorrow — GO JUNIOR.   We will be at the race, pit passes in hand, and I’ll have some photos and videos later this weekend.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

The time has come as I finally get my official “say” in the 2008 election.  Tomorrow is the North Carolina Primary!  And we have a lot going on in the Tar Heel state besides that one primary race you are hearing a lot about.

So for all of you from North Carolina who read GayPatriot or have family/friends that do…. here are my official, personal endorsements.  (GP Ed. Note:  I respectfully still disagree with Dan on his support of John McCain, so these are my PERSONAL endorsements).

FOR REPUBLICAN NC GOVERNOR:  Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.

It is about time that the largest metro area in the state have a larger say in Raleigh.  Our voice has been minimized lately because the former DEMOCRAT from our area who was the Speaker of the House is sitting his ass in jail due to massive corruption.

McCrory is the seven-term Mayor of the City of Charlotte.  He has governed with, what I would call, a conservative pragmatism.  Not perfect, but just right for being a Republican mayor in the second largest city in the South. (Yes, that’s right Atlanta!)   He has made job growth, fighting crime and cracking down on illegal immigration the cornerstones of his campaign.   I think he is the best GOP candidate to win back the Governor’s Mansion for conservative governing this year.

DISCLOSURE:  I am a proud financial contributor to McCrory for Governor.

FOR DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION:  Senator Hillary Clinton

As a proud footsoldier of Operation Chaos, it is my duty to urge unaffiliated and switched-Republicans in North Carolina to VOTE HILLARY!!! (I think a little vomit just came up…)   

Ahem, anyway… if we have to have a Democrat in the White House I’d much rather have the devil we know than the silver-tongued devil we don’t know.   

Oh yeah….and on gay rights — Hillary, Obama & McCain are all the same; why waste my breath on that topic?

FOR REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION:  “NONE OF THE ABOVE”

We have a cool option on the North Carolina ballot that I plan to use tomorrow:  None Of The Above (NOTA); technically the spot on the ballot reads: No Preference – Republican.

I cannot in good conscience vote for John McCain who, without the pantsuit and cackle, looks to be a lot like Hillary Clinton rather than Ronald Reagan to me.  I fear the unchecked President McCain (with support/acquiensence) of the Democratic Congress) will roll the clock back on securing the border, ensuring economic growth and may allow millions of Americans to be vaporized because he doesn’t want to even consider the Jack Bauer-treatment of terror suspects.  Don’t even get me started about the threat as President he poses due to his blatant disregard to the freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment (McCain-Feingold).

Sorry John…. you may have won over others in the Republican Party — but you have a LONG way to go with me.   I can at least let you know how I feel … with my vote for ‘NOTA’ tomorrow in North Carolina.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I just finished up a podcast with Kevin Naff, the Editor of the Washington Blade. Primarily I wanted to talk to Kevin about the horrible execution-style murder of those college kids last August in Newark, NJ. Lou Chibarro of the Blade has the latest details.

On the podcast, Kevin tells me that the mainstream media is proactively covering up the fact that at least one of the murder victims was openly gay. In addition, all three victims were on their way to a Gay Pride event before they were murdered. Kevin has been trying for nearly a year to lift the veil of secrecy and get some national attention to this angle. He also says police have confided that the details of the murder were much more gruesome than at first reported.

I promised Kevin we would follow the story here at GayPatriot, and help as we can.

Also on our show today, Kevin and I discussed Pansy-gate. Kevin’s take mirrored my own. Who knew that a top echelon member of the Gay Media Mafia was so smart! (Just razzing you, Kevin!)

And we wrapped up with an overall look at Hillary vs. Obama vs. McCain.

Feel free to listen to GayPatriot’s America at BlogTalkRadio…. or just push play below!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)