… this should explain everything.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

Full story here at The Tar Heel Report.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

I realize that this whole “almost ran for Senate” thing is going to get old and I’m the last one to beat a dead horse.  But someone suggested today that I write some stuff about the experience that might be interesting for other people to read.  And there are some things I touched on (a bit) during the radio show that I didn’t include in the “official” blog post.  Also, need I remind anyone, a blog is supposed to be for crap like this.

GayPatriot Report – March 27 edition

One of the other big reasons for not tackling the Senate campaign is my health; the majority of which deals with my decade-long struggle with clinical depression.  Again, this isn’t breaking news — I’ve discussed it on the blog here in the past. 

However, everyone of a certain age still remembers how mental health issues derailed the Vice Presidential candidacy of Thomas Eagleton. (And no, I haven’t had electric shock treatments!).  More recently, former US Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. seems to have dealt with depression to some extent – as well as criminal legal problems.

The fact of the matter is — I’m not sure I will ever be “cured” of my depression.  I had a really bad turn in 2010 which resulted in my life changing in ways I couldn’t imagine.  This is very personal stuff to discuss, folks, and not fodder for a political campaign — in my opinion.

Anyway, despite having my medication adjusted in 2010 — I still have bad days.  Well, I’d have to imagine one cannot have a “bad day” if one is running for public office.  And my brain doesn’t cooperate with me now — Lord only knows what it would have had in store for me.  And what people would have thought about those “bad days.”

As I mentioned on The GayPatriot Report last night, our mental healthcare system is a total mess.  Since I’m not running for public office, I can even call it a clusterfuck.  Thankfully, I have only had to personally be involved at a primary care level — but my previous corporate job (also mentioned on the radio) involved obtaining an in-depth knowledge of the mental health system in the USA.  Did I mention it SUCKS?

Read this book: Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness.  It involves a much more serious case of mental health than I could ever imagine dealing with.  But I witnessed glimpses of this in my job.  We treat our seriously mentally ill citizens in this country in our prison systems.  That’s messed up.

I also mentioned last night on the radio show my struggles with back pain.  There probably isn’t a day where I can sit in a chair longer than 20 minutes without being in pain the rest of the day.  I have worsening arthritis in my lower spine.  And yeah, that also sucks.

(more…)

When the grassroots effort began which led to me strongly considering a challenge to Lindsey Graham for US Senate in 2014 — I promised that I would conduct my efforts in a transparent manner through social media.

I’ve been relatively quiet about my decision making process this week.

That was by design. After the enormous reception I received at CPAC, my team of advisors and I thought it best that we keep a lower profile this week.

This has allowed us to do the quiet due diligence that we need in order to make a final decision on whether to enter the race.

I promised that there would be a decision by mid-April, and there still will be.

I’d just ask everyone’s patience with me as I consult with my family, friends and members of the conservative grassroots that I respect dearly.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

-Bruce

A leaked memo to the Charlotte Observer on Thursday night has political watchers’ tongues wagging across North Carolina today.

Read all about it, here at WatchDogWire.com – North Carolina.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

Things are always interesting in South Carolina politics….

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson’s acceptance today of an ethics complaint against state House Speaker Bobby Harrell highlights conflict-of-interest weaknesses in state law dealing with the House Ethics Committee.

Ashley Landess, president of the South Carolina Policy Council, the parent organization of The Nerve, this afternoon filed a formal complaint against Harrell, R-Charleston, with the attorney general, whose office said the matter would be forwarded to the State Law Enforcement Division.

In a letter this afternoon to SLED Chief Mark Keel, John McIntosh, chief deputy attorney general, said Landess has “brought to our attention today that there may be inherent conflicts of interest by potential witnesses with respect to any initial inquiry by the House Ethics Committee,” and that Landess referred the matter to the Attorney General’s Office for “handling as a criminal matter.”

The full letter from the SC Policy Council to Attorney General Wilson can be found at this link.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

My latest post is up at Watchdog Wire – North Carolina.

FAST TRACK EXPECTED FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REFORM

Business owners in the state of North Carolina have been increasingly feeling the crush of the cost of unemployment taxes following the economic collapse in 2008.

Small businesses have been especially hard hit in keeping up with this tax burden as the rolls of the unemployed have swelled to record numbers.

Hopefully for the Schulz’s and other employers in the Tarheel State, the General Assembly is poised to take quick action.

Read the whole thing!

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

One of the panels today at the National Review Institute’s Summit was “Solutions from the States.” The topics ranged from the transfer of income from high-tax to low-tax states, the impact of pop culture on conservatism and how to change it, and the broad wins at the state level that the Republican Party has had over the past several election cycles.

To that last point, John Hood – President of the John Locke Foundation – spent a few moments with me talking about how the strength of the state-based Republican Party can be translated to national prominence.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

My new piece is up at WatchdogWire – North Carolina.  Here’s a snippet!

In Watchdog Wire’s exclusive interview with Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), he stated his support of the court’s ruling.

“Today the D.C. Circuit court rejected the Obama Administration’s executive over reach by finding unconstitutional the President’s recess appointments of officers to federal agencies. This ruling will help in the fight to restore that very system of checks and balances to our government. No president should seek to hijack an independent executive branch agency with unconfirmed political appointees.”

Please read the whole thing!

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

2013 is shaping up as a big year for me so far. 

In addition to hosting duties at MatchGame Monday Night and The GayPatriot Report on The 405 Radio Network, I’m also the new editor of Watchdog Wire, North Carolina.   Watchdog Wire is “a place for citizen journalists to connect with other like-minded people in their area and across the nation. It will also serve as a platform to post original content on issues that are often ignored by the media.”

My first article at Watchdog Wire-NC is now up…. please read and let me know your thoughts. 

Over the next 30 days, North Carolina is expected to become the site for the next battle over President Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Former Gov. Bev Purdue had begun to implement the state-based exchanges under the ACA, however the newly sworn-in Republican Gov. Pat McCrory has put on hold those plans, at least for now.

If you are in North Carolina and would like to be a contributor, please email me: bruce-at-gaypatriot-dot-org.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

I didn’t want the post below to be the lead item on what is a very historic day for my state.  So I want to add some brief personal thoughts about Tim Scott.

He is an awesome pick.  Unlike most of the politicans who embraced Tea Party, limited government principles AFTER the movement forced them to, Tim Scott already possessed those principles.  He is a smart, funny, engaging guy who has a way of making everyone around him feel included.

I daresay that he will rival some of the more notable Senators as one who will go into the history books based on his record and accomplishments.

I had the unfortunate pleasure to follow US Rep. Tim Scott at the October 18 Charleston Tea Party rally.  He had the crowd on its feet, singing and full of energy; he was a hard act to follow.

It is worth noting that Tim Scott is the only black Senator from the Confederate South since Reconstruction.  And the only black Senator from the South since the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed.  Only Illinois and Massachusetts have had African-American Senators in modern America.

Until today.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

. . . will be the only man ever appointed to the Senate by an Indian American woman.  South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, reports, Ed Morrissey

will appoint Rep. Tim Scott to replace Senator Jim DeMint in the US Senate, making Scott the upper chamber’s only African-American member, and give him a boost in the 2014 special election for the rest of DeMint’s term. ..

(Via Instapundit.)  Oh, and Scott is a Republican.  Just as there are no African-American Democratic Senators, there are no Indian-American or Hispanic Democratic governors.  Two of the three Senators of Hispanic background are Republican.

Some news reports notwithstanding, Scott will not occupy the Senate seat once held by Strom Thurmond.  Lindsay Graham sits in that chair.

In just about an hour, my partner John and I are going to be embarking on a social media event of our own making — we are going to live-tweet dinner!

But let me step back…

One of the first restaurants we went to when we moved to Charlotte in 2006 was Blue Restaurant & Bar in Uptown Charlotte. The food has always been terrific, the staff great, and the wine selection awesome.

Well, I found out last week that Blue has a new menu. So John and I decided to check it out and share it — real-time — with all of our Twitter followers.

So check it out, beginning at about 7:15PM on my Twitter feed – @GayPatriot.

Also, please support Blue by liking them on Facebook and following @BlueCharlotte on Twitter.

During the course of the “event” tonight, I’m going to ask my followers to help me pick my eating selections. Hey, what could go wrong?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

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.