REPUBLICAN DESTRUCTIONISM

Just in case you haven't been aware of what is happening in North Carolina politics since becoming a Republican lead majority. This is what it looks like in my home state. The Republicans have been proposing many horrific policies and it ain't pretty.

First and foremost when Governor McCrory took office he gave his cabinet a raise. Now he did this in a state that is struggling with unemployment. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs right. Which brings us to the severe cuts in unemployment benefits law that he signed. This law reduces the maximum benefit allowed from $535 a week to $350 a week while cutting the number of weeks an unemployed worker is eligible for the program from 26 to 20.   As a result, 170,000 jobless North Carolinians will also lose access to $780 million in federal unemployment funds. This act earned him a rebuke from the National Employment Law Project, which said in a release that the law will result in "The most severe cuts to both state and federal unemployment insurance of any state in the nation".

On to the Racial Just Act it seems the Republicans want to repeal it. Repealing this legislation will no longer protect defendants from racial bias during their trials. This seems to me to be completely racist.

Next there is the HB 217 legislation. This would allow a kid as young as 13 to be included in the adult criminal justice system and it will remove judicial oversight. If past it will give prosecutors complete discretion over NC's children it will also stop juvenile court judges from decision making power.

Now we come to Voter Suppression Republican style in my home state of NC. Republican house majority leader Edgar Starnes wants to shorten the length of time for early voting, prohibit voting on Sunday, abolish same day registration at early voting sites and end straight ticket voting. Also they want to only have one early voting sight per county. As a rule early voters seem to favor Democrats. So there you go. People who have served their time will have to wait an additional five years before they get their voting rights back. Oh and let's not forget the voter ID law even though we have had NO voter fraud in North Carolina.

Now on to Education. Senate bill 516 which state there will be NO maximum class size. The current cap is 24 kids per elementary class room. Lifting classroom maximums would allow school districts to lay off teachers during lean budget times. Then you have the charter schools. The bill SB 337 co sponsored by Sen. Jerry Tillman of Moore County states that no education is required for applicants and teachers don't need to be licensed or even have a college degree to teach core subjects. This bill also makes criminal back ground checks optional. So that means background checks for poor people, just not teachers in charter schools.

Get ready heterosexual married folk. Getting a divorce in North Carolina is going to take longer for you now. The Health Marriage Act HB518. Senator Austin Allran (R-Catawba) understands the moral decay that's gradually infecting our state. Never fear: He has written a law that will get us back on the path to a virtuous society. His bill would extend the separation period from one year to two years and require counseling for each person. So much for domestic violence protection.

There is more but I figure this is plenty for folks to digest and get heartburn from knowing. If you are not happy with the way the GOP is disrupting our state please contact your NC State Representatives even if your representatives are democrats. It is always good to let them know that you want them to continue the fight.

These are my thoughts and feelings from Jillsville.

 http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/this-week-in-disappointment-more-terrible-republicans-bills/Content?oid=3494382

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamison-doran/an-open-letter-to-the_b_3014361.html

http://thinkprogress.org/?s=North+Carolina&nl=1&x=-945&y=-108