NORTH CAROLINA NextWAR The African-American Clergy of the Triangle Area issue a statement against TW’s war. “’We believe it is wrong for the United States to seek to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein with military action,’ said the Rev. William Turner, of Mount Level Missionary Baptist Church.” – Herald Sun If you are interested in continuing efforts for peace, this link will take you to a calendar of events across North Carolina. – Peace ECONOMY Lance is cutting 300 jobs in Charlotte. – Herald Sun Lexington Homes, a furniture plant, is closing after 50 years because of the economy. 350 North Carolinians will lose their jobs. -- N&O Heating oil prices are up 49% in North Carolina, following a nationwide trend in energy prices. – Herald Sun SOS Governor Easley will deliver the State of the State address on Monday, March 6th. Catch it on TV or if you prefer on your computer. The hyperlink will be on this website for Net Junkies who have Real Player -- Easley He will be asking the General Assembly, again, to permit a vote on the lottery. – N&O BUDGET Last week, TPJ had an article that Easley was advocating a constitutional amendment to limit state government spending to the average growth of income over the past 10 years in North Carolina. This proposal is one that conservatives and many Republicans have advocated for years. Easley promised to submit a budget this year in line with the formula even though he is not obligated to do so. It appears that the mathematics used to calculate what that would be for this year was in error. -- N&O REP. MCINTYRE Rep. McIntyre gets the top Dem spot on House Agriculture Committee. -- FO REP. COBLE An American who was interned in a camp during WWII writes in response to Rep. Coble’s statement that he agreed with internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. “At the time, many Americans had wrongly assumed that since we were at war with Japan, those who had Japanese ancestry must be loyal to "the old country." In fact, families in our camps continued to voluntarily salute the American flag each morning and send their sons to fight alongside other American soldiers. As war with Iraq looms, we're falling into the same human trap -- that age-old survival tactic that tells us instinctively to fear all who look like some who have hurt us. The appalling suggestion that the same horrendous mistake of internment be made today with Arab Americans is a sober reminder that fear can, and often does, lead to irrational decisions that penalize innocent people. We must turn away from marginalizing or categorizing any individual or group. Instead, we should embrace the diversity of perspectives and cultures we share in this great nation as a solution, not a problem. The answer to fear of our nation's enemies should not be to feed the hatred with a government-sponsored prison program for innocent people.” -- CO [Junkie: Great sentiment, but Repubs are already working on Patriot Act II – coming soon!] EDWARDS Sen. Edwards loses Bob Schrum, a key staff member. Schrum is going to go to work for Sen. Kerry, Edwards’ opponent. -- N&O DEM PARTY NEWS NCDP chair Barbara Allen announced the appointment of 17 members to serve on the Party’s Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action Committee. The committee will develop a plan for determining the process for selecting delegates and alternates to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in July 2004 in Boston. The plan will detail procedures involving delegate candidate recruitment and delegate selection, as well as a timeline for the process. The Plan must be submitted to the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee by May 1, 2003, after a 30-day public comment period. Stella Adams, a longtime party activist from Durham, will chair the committee. “I’m excited to announce this committee,” Allen said. “We will lay the groundwork for North Carolina’s delegates to get to Boston and witness history, the nomination of the next President of the United States.” Adams will be joined on the committee by: Party Chair Barbara Allen of Raleigh; First Vice Chair Jerry Meek of Fayetteville; DNC Committeeman David Parker of Statesville; DNC Committeeman Everett Ward of Raleigh; DNC Committeewoman Muriel Offerman of Cary; DNC Committeewoman Jeanette Council of Fayetteville; DNC At-Large Member and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall of Dunn; DNC At-Large Member Jocelyn Johnson of Winston-Salem; Hispanic Democrats President Ricardo Velasquez of Durham; Democratic Women President Carolyn Honeycutt of Raleigh; Senior Democrats President Tony Foriest of Graham; Young Democrats President Tate Helms of Chapel Hill; 1st Congressional District Chair Melinda Solomon-Harris of Roanoke Rapids; Patrick Lambert of Cherokee; John Arrowood of Charlotte; Darryl Williams of Charlotte. The committee will begin its work immediately. Large contributions that cannot be used by candidates helped the Dem Party renovate its headquarters in Raleigh. – N&O NO APOLOGY Last week TPJ ran an article about the Billy Yow, the Republican County Commissioner in Guilford County, who compared the NAACP to white supremacist groups and the Taliban. Calls have continued for You to resign. Yow says he has "no fight" with the group, but hasn't apologized for the remarks. NAACP leaders renewed calls for Commissioner Billy Yow to apologize or resign Friday, but later in the day after a two-hour meeting with the commissioner they issued a joint statement with Yow calling his remarks regrettable.” – Herald Sun |
