James's blog

It’s now or never

Last week Jane and I donated a full year’s worth of our retirement savings to pro-choice candidates in North Carolina. Specifically to ten individuals in important and winnable races.

The truth is, we’d rather die a year earlier than live out our lives under the Tarheel Taliban.

It’s now or never. Give whatever you can. Do it today.

Wait just a minute

I see a lot of comparisons between abortion rights and gun rights, ways the two issues are alike and not alike. For example, almost no one believes the two rights are absolute. Most agree there are acceptable limits for possessing weapons. No one thinks your crazy uncle should have access to a nuclear bomb. Similarly, few people advocate third-trimester abortions, except perhaps when a woman's life is at grave risk.

Fund Leandro now

From WRAL:

Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore need to tell Judge Robinson now that they intend, when the legislature reconvenes May 4, to introduce and move legislation to assure implementation of the Comprehensive Remedial Plan, as Judge David Lee ordered and provide all the funding necessary to do it. There’s enough money in the state coffers to do that – and more.

This will put the legislature on the side of the law – obeying a proper court order.

This will put the legislature on the side of the people it represents – supporting quality public schools.

Again.

Next week, on April 20, North Carolina will once again have the chance to confront its breathtaking hypocrisy. Our state has not yet made cannabis legal, either for medical or recreational use. Instead of bringing in millions of dollars of tax benefits from the sale of pot, instead of reinvigorating our agricultural economy, we'll continue to spend millions to bolster discriminatory policies, including the spectacular failure known as the War on Drugs. Our legislature, who so often touts "freedom" as a core value, continues to ignore science, economics, and personal liberty in favor of "father knows best." It's a sickening display.

To kick off a week focusing on the urgency of legalizing marijuana, here's some of my personal story:

Seth Effron breaks down some polling data

This column is by Seth Effron, opinion editor for Capitol Broadcasting Company.

When voters are polled, numbers deep inside the findings can often be as revealing as the ones that grab the headlines. Here are some findings from deep inside the numbers in the latest WRAL News poll.

One thing that can be striking is just how out of touch some of the most prominent elected officials can be from the people who put them in office. Nothing shows that more clearly than how North Carolinians feel about support for their public schools.

Dying

A close friend of mine died last night at age 94. From what I can tell, it was as good a death as one can expect these days. A death while sleeping.

It wasn't a death from Russian missile strikes. It wasn't a death caused by a botched back-alley abortion. It wasn't a death caused by a denied insurance claim. It wasn't a death caused by opioid addiction. It wasn't a death from suicide. It wasn't a death from freezing.

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