NC: Same-sex marriage applicants test county

Via Michael

For years, Mitch Fortune and Jake Crouch have been prevented from getting married by laws making same-sex marriage illegal in North Carolina.

So when they heard the county's top record-keeper was going to accept same-sex marriage license requests Tuesday, they headed to his office. With his action, Buncombe County Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger became one of the first officials in the South to take such applications from same-sex couples.

"This is a big step," said Crouch, 29, a climatologist who works for the federal government.
Thirty-four-year-old Fortune agreed, adding that they had been discussing marriage for much of their 7-year relationship. They bought a house together in Asheville three years ago.

"I'd like to see this happen soon," he said.

Reisinger accepted marriage license requests from 10 same-sex couples on Tuesday, despite a 2012 amendment to the state constitution forbidding such marriages.

Reisinger said he will hold the licenses and ask state Attorney General Roy Cooper for legal advice. Reisinger said he believes the state's ban is unconstitutional.

More @ KHOU

North Carolina is first state to cut welfare amid federal shutdown

Via LH

 

North Carolina has become the first state to cut off welfare benefits to poor residents in the wake of the partial federal government shutdown, ordering a halt to processing November applications until a deal is reached to end the federal standstill.

More @ Reuters

"Oh! Cool. I want to go there."

Via Cotopaxi

Me too.:)

EBT Card User Threatens Rodney King-Style Riots

Via Cousin John

The White House In Shutdown: First Lady Michelle Obama's Kitchen Garden Is Wrecked

Via Bill

 

Photos: The showcase plot is filled with unharvested vegetables and weeds, and wildlife running amok...
 
Washington, DC - The first government shutdown in seventeen years has had a dramatic impact on First Lady Michelle Obama's world-famous Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn, currently bursting with more than thirty kinds of vegetables, including Presidential pumpkins awaiting harvest just in time for Halloween.  (Above, Mrs. Obama in the garden in happier days) 

In the eleven days since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the pounds and pounds of ripe organic bounty have gone to waste.  The vegetables filling the 1,500 square-foot plot are now rotting away on the vines and in the boxed beds, thanks to the mandate for "minimal maintenance" placed on the skeletal crew of National Park Service gardeners who remain on duty at 1600 Penn.  

More @ Obama Foodorama

Breathtaking Tribute to a Fallen Farmer

Via southwind

 

Recently, we got the most amazing note, from a photographer named Matt Rubel, with a link to some pictures from an unusual memorial to a young farmer in Illinois. We asked Matt for the right to publish his photos and for an explanation of the event, pasted below.

My mother’s family is from a small farming community near Champaign, Illinois.  Though I grew up a Navy kid and lived all over the world, I always loved coming to the farm.  As a child, I was fascinated by my grandfather’s tractors and farm equipment.  If my brother and I were lucky, we would catch Grandpa early enough during the harvest or planting season and be allowed to ride in the tractor.  They’ve always been a very tangible symbol of farming to me.

More @ Modern Farmer

Defending the Second Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - I do not need to tell you that the Obama administration is doing everything it can to take away our Second Amendment rights.  You may have heard that the president recently signed the United Nations (UN) Arms Trade Treaty, which would seriously impact the right to own a gun in the United States.  This UN treaty does not recognize the individual right to own and operate a gun, paves the way for a national gun registry, and opens the door to additional gun sale regulations.  By signing it, the president has set a dangerous precedent for our nation.

In response to President Obama's troubling action, today I joined 179 of my colleagues from both parties in the House of Representatives in signing a letter stating that we will stand with the Senate in opposition to ratifying this treaty.  Furthermore, we will refuse to pass any legislation that would allow implementation or funding for the terms of the treaty.

President Obama's administration has an unfortunate history of violating the constitutional rights of American citizens, and this is no exception.  His assault on the Second Amendment is unacceptable.  Please know that I will continue my efforts in defense of your right to own and operate a gun in Eastern North Carolina.

Walter Jones

 Thank you for taking the time to read about some of my work for the Third District.  For daily updates, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter. To contact me or learn more about the services provided by my office, please visit my web site.

NC: Morrisville considers (changing) state gun law

 

 The Wicked Witch of the West

Mayor Jackie Holcombe said she isn’t pleased state legislators have expanded gun laws to allow permit holders to bring concealed weapons onto playgrounds, greenways and athletic fields.]

Holcombe is urging Morrisville town staff to review the new law, which went into effect Oct. 1, to see if there is room to restrict guns near children in public areas. The council is expected to vote on the revisions Oct. 22.

“I wanted staff to see if there are any options at all,” Holcombe said.

Under the state law, guns aren’t allowed during specific times such as cricket-league practices and soccer practices, she said. “But there is no similar option for parents who would like to use our playgrounds,” Holcombe said.

More @ Cary News

Soros behind group blocking buses deporting illegals

Billionaire George Soros is a primary donor to the so-called immigrant-rights organization that has been blocking buses and carrying out other civil disobedience to block the deportation of illegal aliens, WND has learned.

On Friday, the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, or NDLON, carried out civil disobedience for hours in Tucson, Ariz. The protesters formed human circles around buses and even chained themselves to vehicles attempting to transport illegal aliens to the courthouse for processing.

Activists also reportedly blocked the entrance to the courthouse.

The protests reportedly prompted a federal court to shut down its deportation process known as Operation Streamline for the day. Operation Streamline is a Bush-era program that allows judges to review multiple cases at the same time to expedite the deportation of illegal aliens.

More @ WND

Dude I Want That!

Via WiscoDave

 

More @ their site