James Protzman's blog

What's up?

Bev vs. Pat meet in their two-way debate tonight. Who's watching?

Here's the link

Phillip Gilfus hit the N&O with a splash yesterday in this story by Rob Christensen. Sorry I missed this, but I do tend to gloss over Christensen's byline. All the same, it's a good article.

Gilfus has long been a Democrat, interning with two Democratic state senators in the legislature when he was younger. An Episcopalian, Gilfus said his religious beliefs influenced his political choices.

"That is why I am a Democrat," Gilfus said. "The Gospel does teach us about caring for our fellow man."

O-No! says pull the plug on Duke Energy's plans to expand its wholesale operations. Good call.

The NC Budget and Tax Center says it's time to rethink taxes noting that next year ain't gonna be pretty.

The Puppetshow criticizes drought planning because the mean old government might be trampling on the rights of property owners to use as much damn water as they want.

A bunch of men (yours truly included) debating abortion at Ed's place. I don't know how women stand us.

Mike Munger is still listed on the Board of Advisers to one of the rings in Art Pope's Circus. Ah well. I've been checking him out more closely to see if I could actually bring myself to vote for him. Sorry, Mike. No can do.

McCain auditions for weatherman. O-No! covers the breaking story. We hope this storm does not turn into a hurricane, but if it does, the damage will be minimal," McCain said.

Scapegoating moves forward, albeit slowly.

Federal prosecutors have sent target letters to six Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a September shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, indicating a high likelihood the Justice Department will seek to indict at least some of the men, according to three sources close to the case.

I'm looking for a good thick novel with great dialogue and passion. Something to take me away for awhile. That's what happened when I read The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. It set a new standard of engagement.

If you have any experience with suicide, especially where there is the possibility that it might have been an accident, you probably understand mixed feelings. That happens to me anytime there's a story or a movie or a whatever that pushes the question into your face.

Perhaps that explains my views on the matter: that people ought to be free to kill themselves without explanation, that getting help from a physician to do just that is a just and honest thing.

What are you sick of these days? So many options, so little time.

Happy weakend, folks.

Updated with email message from a friend: Keep telling her the the "LG has no clothes" - she needs the reminder now and then, but she is the best hope for what is important to people like us. That Bozo from Charlotte will see us out to the highest bidder. This is exactly how I see it.

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I'm sure you and your staff agonized about whether to sell out poor brown people for political advantage, but agony or not, you came down on the wrong side of an important moral issue. Which makes your campaign irrelevant to me. Don't bother calling. Don't bother writing. Don't bother me at all. You don't need progressives, and progressives don't need you. I'm heading for Mike Munger.

RALEIGH - Leaders of the state's community colleges voted today to close their doors to illegal immigrants until they complete a study and come up with a permanent policy. The decision today by the State Board of Community Colleges marks a reversal from Thursday, when officials indicated they were inclined to admit illegal immigrants pending the outcome of the study.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic candidate for governor, made the motion to ban illegal immigrants from community colleges while the study is ongoing.