Reflection on the election

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Matthew Huffman

Kara Haney, left, and her partner of 8 years Kate Wertin, right, embrace in the Lobby Bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood as the Washington State Senate passes a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Washington State on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Dozens gathered at the bar to watch the debate via TV on the senate floor. (Photo by Joshua Trujillo, seattlepi.com)

America took several steps forward yesterday. Headline-grabbing national races aside, it felt like the biggest move among the electorate was not contained within any one party. Instead it seemed as though the good political grain of expanded liberties had triumphed against the chaff of party politics. The best gains were made for expand the institution of marriage in several states. At HonestNC, we had envisioned North Carolina as the point of inflection on gay marriage in the United States, a tide turning back a century of ignorance and repression on the subject. Continue reading →

The state of Washington to decide on gay marriage

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Matthew Huffman

A referendum is being held in the state of Washington this coming election to decide if gay marriage will be allowed in the state. The bill was signed into law on February 13th, 2012, but is now being put to referendum to allow the public a say on the matter. Luckily, Amendment One was not the only governmental legislation dealing with the rights of gay people.

Several musicians include Ben Gibbard, Tegan and Sara and Macklemore are working together to form Music for Marriage Equality, a group that uses music to encourage voters to support equality. North Carolina’s referendum on gay marriage was held in a place of deep conservatism and old theology. Washington will likely speak with more of a progressive choice. Check out a video produced for the cause by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis “Same Love.”

Dalton’s only hope

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Andrew Payne

There’s only one hope for Walton Dalton, the Democratic nominee for governor – demand the NC Utilities Commission rescind the Duke-Progress Energy merger.

Pat McCrory (R) is leading Dalton in both the polls and in the bank account. Dalton’s only hope is to throw a monkey wrench into the campaign; and Duke Energy may have the biggest wrench in the state.

As anger grows in Raleigh and elsewhere across the state where Progress Energy once loomed large, the former Charlotte mayor and political frontman for Duke Energy is bound to pay the price.

A former Progress director said that Duke Energy’s actions were ”the most blatant example of corporate deceit that I have witnessed during a long career on Wall Street.”

Dalton simply needs to connect the dots for voters in order turn the statewide electorate against Duke and the former Charlotte mayor.

Duke Energy’s next victim

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Andrew Payne

The North Carolina Utilities Commission duped. Progress Energy shareholders lied to. Thousands to lose their jobs. Raleigh no longer home to a community-oriented Fortune 500 company. Bill Johnson fired.

Duke Energy’s victim list is growing. Who’s their next victim? Pat McCrory.

As anger grows in Raleigh and elsewhere across the state where Progress Energy once loomed large, the former Charlotte mayor and political frontman for Duke Energy is bound to pay the price. Charlotte is home to Duke, now the nation’s largest utility.

Will it destroy McCrory’s gubernatorial hopes? That of course remains to be seen. But Duke Energy may have just turned the tide, reminding the state – rightfully or not – that Charlotte and its civic leaders like Duke CEO Jim Rogers are not be trusted.

Why Senator Forrester was against gay marriage

Posted on May 14, 2012 by David Hook

I say “was” because James Forrester is deceased as of October 31st, 2011. One of his last acts was to push Amendment One onto the ballot after eight years of trying to do the same. In this video, he seems unable to come up with a reasonable, cohesive defense for this move. Some of the senator’s reasoning includes certifiably false science, as well as advice from author Frank Turek, a prolific doctor of Christian Apologetics. His works include I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Correct, Not Politically Correct and Legislating Morality.

Cheers to the radio host for not backing down.

The Forest for the Trees

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Matthew Huffman

For many North Carolinians, yesterday wasn’t easy. Despite nearly universal polling numbers that indicated widespread support for an amendment so hauntingly discriminatory and filled with exclusion, many people in this state thought they would wake up on Wednesday morning with their fellow citizens having made the right decision to extend love and care to the disenfranchised. The reality was not as kind.
Continue reading →

Silencing the voices of our past

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Matthew Huffman

Raleigh's first African-American mayor: Clarence Lightner

There was a small brouhaha in Raleigh this week when Bruce Lightner penned a note asking the city to not name it’s new courthouse after former N.C. senator Jesse Helms. This letter, coming from the son of Raleigh’s first African-American mayor, was rebuffed by the conservative voices on the Wake County Board of Commissioners, several of whom are seeking higher office.
Continue reading →

Overheard?

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Andrew Payne

Did we hear NC House Speaker Thom Tillis correctly when speaking about Amendment One and the need to write discrimination into the State’s Constitution?

“This amendment is necessary to honor the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, and I am pleased that North Carolinians will have the chance to include it in our constitution on May 8. Just don’t apply it to my staff.”

Got to love the hypocrisy.

NC’s Nature Research Center Grand Opening!

Posted on April 20, 2012 by David Hook

That’s right folks, as of 5:00 PM today, April 20th, 2012, you will be able to visit the swanky new wing of the NC Museum of Natural History. The building features a multitude of lab spaces, new-age construction and a huge whale skeleton dangling precariously over the heads of the curious.

Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the Nature Center is its professed mission to not only explore new research, but to present those findings on terms that the general public can understand. That’s a mandate that many other establishments the world over find difficult to uphold. As quoted from the N&O:

“If North Carolina pulls this off, it will put them in the ranks of the most innovative natural-history museums in the world,” Friedman said. “Combining research with educating the public about research tools is very difficult to do, and many have tried. We can explain what we found, but explaining how we found it and knew it was right is far more challenging. The North Carolina museum is tackling that head-on.”

Let’s hear it for NC’s proven commitment to science! The museum will be open for 24 hours for its inaugural celebration. See you there at midnight!

Photo courtesy of the News & Observer.

The Vote Against Festival

Posted on April 18, 2012 by David Hook

UNC is hosting a Vote Against Festival this Friday, April 20th. Come out for a few hours and listen to guest speakers and performers. March starts at 3PM, Festival starts at 4:00!