Monday, July 8, 2013
North Carolina League of the South Legislative Update
The current
session of the General Assembly has yet to wrap up, and many big ticket
items such as the budget have yet to be worked out. But with just a few
weeks remaining before adjournment there is plenty of material to
conduct a proper analysis of what the past 6 months have meant for North
Carolina. In short the Republican wave that swept North Carolina has
failed to produce a fundamental change in the way business will be
conducted for the foreseeable future. It didn’t have to be this way.
With control of the Governor’s Mansion, supermajorities in both chambers
of the General Assembly, and control of the state’s judiciary system
the Republicans had all the keys to the kingdom. But by even their own
expectations they have fallen short. Four fundamental facts explain
this shortfall.
1. Raleigh Ain’t Charlotte:
Pat McCrory swept into office with big numbers and high hopes from
Republicans desperate to break a 20 year drought in the Governor’s
Mansion. But his adjustment from City Hall has been a work in progress
from Day 1. The main difference is that in Charlotte McCrory had to
govern by consensus in a Democrat-leaning town. The Democrat-controlled
City Council was of much the same mindset as “Mayor Pat” in terms of
quality of life issues and big dollar projects. Life in Raleigh is much
different.
2.
Part
of the great success of the Republican wave in 2010 meant that Governor
Pat faced a Republican legislature that had had 2 years to get used to
its new power. The folks down Jones Street were already used to
conducting business while ignoring the prerogatives of Governor Perdue,
and had their agenda and expectations ready to go on Day 1. Governor
Pat has yet to master the levers of power in dealing with the General
Assembly and has stuck with reforming the executive departments under
his direct control. Time will tell whether or not he can gain solid
footing heading into the fall and next year’s Short Session but his
first 6 months have been quite the learning experience.
2. Dueling Houses:
The first two years of Republican control of Jones Street saw only
slight hints of daylight between the House and the Senate. Facing down
Governor Perdue meant that they had to coordinate strategy in facing a
common intransigent foe. The Republican sweep in 2012 freed the
majorities to pursue their own agendas, often stepping on each other’s
toes in the process. Dueling budgets along with dueling tax reform
plans have led to frayed tempers between the House and Senate
leaderships, with Governor McCrory frequently siding with the House.
The
Senate under Phil Berger has tended to be the more ambitious and
unabashed conservative of the two bodies. With nose-breaker Tom Apodaca
at the head of the Rules Committee the attitude of the Republican
Senate has been take no prisoners. The House on the other hand is
taking a more measured approach in the hopes of not moving too far
beyond public opinion. The fact that Speaker Thom Tillis has already
announced his candidacy for the US Senate and that Berger is also
considering a run cannot help the tensions between the two chambers.
3. Spirited Backlash:
Barack Obama’s strong performance in North Carolina belies the fact
that the state Democratic Party organization has been effectively
kneecapped. The loss of the General Assembly in 2010 followed by the
loss of the Governor’s Mansion in 2012 has effectively robbed the
Democrats of the special interest money that fueled their longtime
dominance in Raleigh. Coupled with the redistricting process that has
all but assured Republican control of the General Assembly till 2020 the
Democrats are still scrambling for a way back to relevance.
Nature
abhors a vacuum and this has allowed Rev. William Barber and the NAACP
to effectively hijack the leadership of the opposition movement to the
Republican agenda in Raleigh. These elements represent the radical
fringe of the liberal movement, but with the Democrats neutered for the
moment they are gaining power. While the “Moral Monday”
outbursts are not likely to stymie the Republican’s agenda for the
remainder of the session, they are likely to make Governor McCrory and
Speaker Tillis more prone to pull their punches as the 2014 elections
approach. The danger of this backlash can be summed up thusly: while
the protestors represent the worst of the liberal/progressive movement,
they are likely to be viewed sympathetically by a large enough section
of the public should the GOP start to lose the favor of its base.
4. Business as Usual:
Lastly the Republican’s in Raleigh are reverting to the method of
exercising power that guided North Carolina under the Black/Basnight
regime. This consists of rewarding the key elements of the base
(religious conservatives, 2nd Amendment advocates, business
supporters) while using power to ensure that special interest money
keeps rolling in to finance the perpetuation of Republican control in
Raleigh. While state government has undergone a shift in the right
direction, it will only march so far because to completely rock the boat
risks the access to campaign cash needed to preserve the majority. To
put it plainly: While the Republicans are willing to take the heat for
measures that please the base they are unwilling to put issues like
nullification on the table for fear that the center will not hold on top
of the current backlash.
Social Media As An Intelligence Gathering Tool
Social media is a double-edged sword.
On one hand, we’re able spread our message of Liberty and resistance to tyranny. On the other hand, what we say, when we say it, and where we say it tells more about us that most realize. The federal regime is able to take all this information and build what’s called a “pattern of life” around it.
Let’s take Iraq for instance. Had the entirety, even half, of Iraqi resistance group members – JAM/AAH/AQI/ISI/ISCI-BADR/KH/Naqshabandi/the list goes on – been on Facebook and Twitter posting photos and talking about what they were doing to or thinking about US/CF, we would have made short work of all of them. Their networks would have been mapped overnight, we’d be targeting the leadership, the most vocal and the most widely followed, and we would have a novel of IP address that point to physical addresses where we can find these people.
It’s no secret that by surfing the FreeFor blogosphere, belonging to resistance/liberty groups on Facebook, and posting III% messages and news articles singles you out for your beliefs. In fact, if DHS really is cataloging the prominent voices of the FreeFor/III% movement and their followers, they’re logging IP addresses and locations and the times of access; devices on which these sites are accessed; names, faces, and other photos; and network diagrams (the gist of which is displayed on this post’s picture). (Fourth Amendment be damned, obviously.) I wouldn’t for a second bet that it hasn’t happened to some of us. Either way, the NSA is still likely collecting the external data of all our communications and web browsing for later consumption and analysis. (See a previous post: On Persistent Surveillance written before the NSA leaks.)
More @ Guerrilla America
Selecting the right gun for teaching a new shooter
Via Oleg Volk
Learning to shoot can be stressful even for adults. Guns can be heavy, ranges are usually noisy, and managing recoil and muzzle blast requires concentration. The learning challenge is that much greater for kids who are often much smaller than adult shooters, may lack the strength to hold up a firearm or to operate some of its controls. Add to this shorter attention span and the impressionable nature of children and the first range trip becomes a high-stakes proposition for the coach. Start out wrong and the interest can quickly change to aversion. Here are the things to consider when picking out a firearm for your child's first range trip
Learning to shoot can be stressful even for adults. Guns can be heavy, ranges are usually noisy, and managing recoil and muzzle blast requires concentration. The learning challenge is that much greater for kids who are often much smaller than adult shooters, may lack the strength to hold up a firearm or to operate some of its controls. Add to this shorter attention span and the impressionable nature of children and the first range trip becomes a high-stakes proposition for the coach. Start out wrong and the interest can quickly change to aversion. Here are the things to consider when picking out a firearm for your child's first range trip
More @ All Outdoor
III CQB
We met yesterday in Mile Square Park near Long Beach and trained in the beautiful Southern California weather, in the shade of trees and the company of Patriots.
BonnieGadsden took point on gathering his Tribe and others in the area to make this happen, and he did a great job. Not only did he do the administrative aspect of herding cats (that's us, Patriots!) he has also done a great job of surrounding himself with damned fine people who can be trusted to show up when help is needed. A couple of folks not in BG's immediate Tribe attended as well, and I suspect the entire group has grown and will keep in touch.
Several Founders were in attendance, one to observe. It is always humbling to meet our Founders and the supporters of not only the III Projects we have going, but also men and women who are true Patriots. I thank you all. In only our second CQB class, combined with my experience at King's Mountain, at Brock's spring PatCon, at Mercer when TL hosted a gathering, I am absolutely convinced that if we all carry a simple message in our hearts on a nationwide basis, and we work our tails off "Local, Local, Local", while taking every opportunity that presents itself to meet one another, even over great distances, the III can preserve Liberty. I am convinced the numbers are there.
Liberty doesn't need overwhelming forces on Her side, She only needs a small, hardcore, relentless, unyielding corps of Patriots who refuse to bend knee. Just like the first time...
And I am meeting such Patriots across the country.
More @ III Percent Patriots
Media still pushing Fast and Furious ‘failed gun-tracking operation’ line
Via WRSA
A Mexican police chief was killed earlier this year with a rifle traced back to the gun store at the center of the Fast and Furious “gunwalking” operation, Richard A. Serrano of The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. The attack -- killing the chief and his bodyguard, and wounding his wife and a second bodyguard -- occurred in Jalisco, “suggesting that weapons from the failed gun-tracking operation have now made it into the hands of violent drug cartels deep inside Mexico,” Serrano wrote.
That terminology, along with the ubiquitous “botched gun sting,” has been the primary meme used by vulnerable government officials and their media water-carriers to deflect attention -- and dismiss as paranoid NRA/rightwing conspiracy theory any suggestion that intent existed to exploit Mexican crimes scene guns traceable to U.S. sources.
That’s despite whistleblower sources claiming in early January, 2011, that guns were being walked “to pad statistics.” It was through these sources that the story was investigated and reported by citizen journalists while “legitimate media” remained deliberately indifferent, until information coming to light could no longer be contained, prompting many “Authorized Journalists” to manage and spin it instead.
A Mexican police chief was killed earlier this year with a rifle traced back to the gun store at the center of the Fast and Furious “gunwalking” operation, Richard A. Serrano of The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. The attack -- killing the chief and his bodyguard, and wounding his wife and a second bodyguard -- occurred in Jalisco, “suggesting that weapons from the failed gun-tracking operation have now made it into the hands of violent drug cartels deep inside Mexico,” Serrano wrote.
That terminology, along with the ubiquitous “botched gun sting,” has been the primary meme used by vulnerable government officials and their media water-carriers to deflect attention -- and dismiss as paranoid NRA/rightwing conspiracy theory any suggestion that intent existed to exploit Mexican crimes scene guns traceable to U.S. sources.
That’s despite whistleblower sources claiming in early January, 2011, that guns were being walked “to pad statistics.” It was through these sources that the story was investigated and reported by citizen journalists while “legitimate media” remained deliberately indifferent, until information coming to light could no longer be contained, prompting many “Authorized Journalists” to manage and spin it instead.
More @ Examiner
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