The bigoted and homophobic population of North Carolina voters and religious fundamentalist nutjobs will be able to vote in favor of a totally unnecessary amendment to the NC Constitution which will further discriminate against unmarried couples, and couples legally married in other states, and possibly disrupt many NC families, when they go to the polls this primary season. Since there are so many bigoted homophobic religious fundamentalist whackos in NC, the ballot question is very likely to pass and take effect immediately unless enough informed people who love equality and want fewer laws which regulate individual behavior get motivated enough to go to the polls and vote against this horrible amendment.

The amendment appears as a result of Session Law 2011-409, which began as Senate Bill 514, with the title “Defense of Marriage”. The name of the bill is very inappropriate and misleading.  A vote in favor of the amendment would actually attack rather than defend marriage. It attacks the marriages of certain people legally married in other states, by failing to recognize their marriage as legal, and would also prevent marriages between people who love each other but are out of luck if they want to live in this state. It is very much like the Jim Crow laws which prevented interracial marriage. Again, the politicians are trying to trick everyone by titling bills which do the opposite, such as Clean Air Act actually enabled more air pollution and should have been called the Dirty Air Act, and the Patriot Act actually should have been called the Act to Repeal the Bill of Rights and the 4th Amendment.

You can click here to see the wording of the entire bill, and you can even see if your elected representatives voted for or against it.

Prove to the politicians you are smarter than they give you credit for. Vote Against the Amendment.

The governor of North Carolina declared a state of emergency in North Carolina. At least 23 known deaths have been reported so far. Many neighborhood were destroyed when the central and east areas of NC was slammed by more than 60 tornadoes in a wide area from Fayetteville to Sanford to Raleigh, WIlson, Dunn, Benson, and as far east as Bertie.

NC House Bill 381 Checking Station Pattern Selection keeps moving
Raleigh (AMP) April 6, 2011

North Carolina House Bill 381, H381, titled Checking Station Pattern Selection, which most people in the motorcycling community “should” favor since it will clarify motorcycle only roadblocks (MOR) otherwise referred to as checking stations or checkpoints, are prohibited in NC was heard in Judiciary Subcommittee B yesterday, where there was a committee substitute, and received a FAVORABLE report. It is heading back to be put on the calendar for the House. I believe it will get scheduled as a 2nd Reading of the bill, and then go directly into a 3rd reading of the bill (unless the Speaker of the House does an unexpected move). It is quite possible for a motion to arise on the floor of the House to ask that the bill be scheduled for the House Transportation Committee, as a courtesy prior to any vote.

Expect it to clear the House and move to the Senate with plenty of time to meet crossover deadlines.

To see H381 Checking Station Pattern Selection and check on its’ status here is the link:
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2011%20%…

For our last report on this bill, see http://boltusa.org/node/231/ NC Reduce Profiling

RALEIGH March 21, 2011
United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court today TIMOTHY ALTON STANCILL, 49, of Ayden, North Carolina, pled guilty before United States District Judge James C. Dever III, to the making of false statements in connection with the federal crop insurance program, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014 and making material false statements, in violation of Title 18, United State Code, Section 1001.

During the course of the investigation, it was determined that STANCILL filed false multi-peril crop insurance claims and crop disaster payment claims. With respect to the claims, STANCILL misrepresented his tobacco production to secure the monies fraudulently. Specifically, STANCILL sold some of his tobacco through Mark Pridgen, a previously indicted co-conspirator, was paid in cash, and failed to disclose the sale in his indemnity claims. STANCILL also paid a bribe to an adjuster so that his losses were falsely inflated, thereby increasing the amount of money he collected in connection with federal indemnity claims. Therefore, he applied for and received federal crop disaster payments based upon a false production history.

At sentencing, set for the July 5, 2011, term of court, STANCILL faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment for making false statements in connection with the crop insurance program and up to five years’ imprisonment for making material false statements. Also, as stipulated in the plea agreement, STANCILL has agreed to pay restitution to the United States Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency and the Farm Service Agency, in the amounts of $196,189 and $34,113, respectively, and to Rural Community Insurance Services in the amount of $36,885.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, Risk Management Agency, Special Investigations Branch, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan, who is assigned to the officer’s Economic Crimes Unit, represented the government.

(AMP) Raleigh
If HB 375 passes the NC General Assembly and becomes law, those roadblocks which stop traffic and violate everyones’ rights might become just a bad memory of a state which was rapidly becoming a police state rather than a free state.
House Bill 375 introduced in the NC General Assembly by first-term representative Glen Bradley of Youngsville would clarify that checkpoints are illegal in the state. Law enforcement refers to roadblocks as checkpoints, check points, or safety checkpoints. US Supreme Court has ruled checkpoints are seizures without a warrant and without probable cause, and as such are unconstitutional in violation of the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights, but the court specifies there are exceptions which allow police to violate the law in the name of public safety. For example, if police received a tip that there are religious extremists with a bomb on the way to blow up a building, there may be good reason to conduct a roadblock. It would still be illegal, but it would be an allowed exception to the Bill of Rights.

Rep. Glen Bradley explains, he hands out copies of the US Constitution to police when he is stopped, saying they obviously “need them” (to know they are violating peoples’ rights). The US Constitution is law which limits the powers of government in order to preserve the rights of the people.
In the embedded video, Wake County Sheriff Harrison clearly wants to continue the violations, and opposes the bill. Harrison favors continuing to accept federal funds (which adds to the debt) to set up checkpoints.

The General Assembly will also review a much weaker bill regarding roadblocks and checkpoints. HB 381 would prevent police from setting up checkpoints in order to profile specific types of vehicles.

Make no mistake about it, those federal funds used to fund states to set up checkpoints do come from taxpayers wallets. The US House of Representatives is currently considering House Resolution HR 904 which would prevent the US Department of Transportation (DOT) from providing federal funds to create motorcycle only roadblocks (MOR).

Raleigh – Below normal rainfall has again thrust parts of central North Carolina into severe drought, and water resources officials are encouraging communities to prepare should dry conditions persist.

“At this point, public water supplies are fine in North Carolina,” said Woody Yonts, chairman of the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council. “But if dry conditions continue to occur, widespread impacts could quickly surface in the next few months as the temperatures begin to gradually increase and the growing season begins.”

Forty-five counties are experiencing drought in North Carolina, according to Thursday’s federal drought map. Of those, 27 Piedmont counties are in severe drought, the second worst level in the four-category system used to measure drought. Thursday marks the first time since September that any part of the Tar Heel State has
experienced severe drought.
The drought map can be seen at ncdrought.org

The introduction of severe drought is based on impacts to streamflows and the flow of rain water into reservoirs – two main factors used to determine drought categories. A lack of significant rainfall in recent months has resulted in below normal groundwater levels and streamflows and less water than needed to replenish reservoirs in parts of North Carolina.

To extend available water supplies and maintain lake levels, many reservoir managers in North Carolina are only allowing minimum releases of water. It’s unusual to take such action to maintain lake levels during the winter when rainfall typically recharges North Carolina’s reservoirs, state water resources officials said.

In addition to the areas experiencing drought, 38 mountain and eastern counties are abnormally dry, according to Thursday’s drought map. Abnormally dry is not a drought category, but means drought could emerge without adequate rainfall.

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