North Carolina Democrats Choose a Completely New and Much Younger Leadership Team

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Saturday February 11, 2023 · 7:04 PM PST

2023/02/11 · 19:04

The State Executive Committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party met today to elect a completely new — and much younger — slate of officers for their party. Of the incumbent leadership, only beloved Secretary Melvin Williams was reelected.

After losing every state-wide race and control over the NC Supreme Court as well as losing seats in both the NC House and the NC Senate in 2022 while other states seemed to beat the odds, Democrats in North Carolina wanted change. And they got it today.

They chose 25-year-old organizer Anderson Clayton as their new Chair over incumbent Dr. Bobbie Richardson, 72, and 36-year-old Orange County Democratic Party Chair Jonah Garson over former State Senator Floyd McKissick, 70, who sought reelection for First Vice Chair.

Incumbent Second Vice Chair Matt Hughes dropped out to preserve the diversity of the slate of officers and endorsed Professor Dr. Kimberly Hardy who easily won the race for Second Vice Chair. Matt opted to run for 3rd Vice Chair instead but lost to 21-year-old Elijah King from Durham.

With this young and energetic Democratic Party leadership team, North Carolina Democrats hope to build a strong and vibrant grassroots, year-round organizing strategy going into 2024. We all need to join them in the hard work ahead. Too much is at stake to remain bystanders. The Republicans are already introducing the kind of bills DeSantis is infamous for, and we just cannot allow someone like Lt. Governor Mark Robinson to be elected governor. This would be utterly disastrous for our state. It’s all hands on deck for 2024.

www.wral.com/…

www.ncdp.org/...

Into to the Light - One Family's COVID Story

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday January 24, 2021 · 9:20 AM PST

2021/01/24 · 09:20

National Mall Memorial

Rationing care is very real as the pandemic is surging, and if a patient does not respond to treatment and the hospital needs the ICU bed for someone who has a better chance of surviving, then the hard choices about end-of-life decisions are made by medical staff, not family members.

My husband’s first cousin-in-law, a retired engineer who worked for decades in the steel industry, had a stroke a few weeks back. He is 75. The stroke was not too severe, but he did need rehab afterwards. Unfortunately, just like many other people have discovered, hospitals and rehab clinics are dangerous places. My sister-in-law contracted COVID-19 during rehab after hip replacement surgery last June. It took her almost 10 weeks to get over it.

Richard, who has been battling Parkinson’s for 15 years, fared far worse when he contracted COVID-19 during rehab. His condition quickly deteriorated, and he was hospitalized with gastrointestinal bleeding in addition to the more common symptoms of COVID-19. He was intubated and approved to receive Remdesivir which is used to treat severe patients, but he did not respond to the treatment and his symptoms worsened. Yesterday, the doctors told his wife and sons that they did not believe he would recover and the hospital needed the ICU bed for someone else. So he was removed from all the tubes and moved to the COVID floor and is receiving palliative care only. The family prayed with the hospital chaplain outside the door of the COVID unit, unable to say their good-byes in person. Now they are awaiting the call from the hospital to let them know that he has passed away.

These stories are repeated all over our nation, every day, every hour, every minute. To all the families who have lost a loved one to this virus, may grace fill your grieving hearts and let the memories help you heal. To all the families who are suffering because they cannot be with their loved ones as they battle this virus, may you find the strength, faith and support to carry on. May the blessings be for all of you who are hurting because of this pandemic.

And to all of those who still refuse to wear masks and observe social distancing, shame on you for participating in the killing of your fellow men and women. You are not exercising your rights; your selfish lack of care and common decency is destroying the rights and lives of others. There is no freedom without love. As Barack Obama said:

We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.

Update: Richard passed away on Monday, Jan. 25, around 11:30 am. Mercifully, he never regained consciousness so did not suffer.

Suppress the Virus, not the Vote. Request your North Carolina Mail-in Ballot Now!

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday July 15, 2020 · 11:06 PM PDT

2020/07/15 · 23:06

Please share widely with other North Carolinians.

The coronavirus has made congregating in small, enclosed spaces dangerous, especially for those of us who are at risk or who need to protect family members who are at risk. Most polling places are not designed to practice social distancing easily. This could create long lines for voters and could also expose poll workers to the virus. As we have seen in Wisconsin’s and Georgia’s primary elections, in-person voting during a pandemic leads to long lines and a critical shortage of poll workers. Citizens should not have to choose between their health and their right to vote. Voting by mail is the most sensible way to ensure that the 2020 election can go on safely, securely, and on time.

North Carolina already gives every registered voter the right to vote by mail without having to provide a reason. Everyone can request a mail-in ballot for the November 3 election right now, and the Board of Elections recommends that voters do so early to avoid a rush closer to the election. Ballots will be sent out in early September. Therefore, we urge every NC voter to request a mail-in ballot as soon as possible.

To download the form, please go to https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Forms/NCAbsenteeBallotRequestForm.pdf

2020 STATE ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST FORM - INSTRUCTIONS

2020 STATE ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST FORM - INSTRUCTIONS To request an absentee ballot, a registered voter or voter’s near relative or verifiable legal guardian must complete and sign this

s3.amazonaws.com

Governor Roy Cooper signed a wide-ranging elections bill into law on June 12, HB 1169, which will make it easier to vote by mail in November:

HB 1169 temporarily reduces the witness requirement for absentee ballot submissions from two witnesses to one but requires more information from absentee ballot witnesses, including a printed name and address;
Allows absentee ballot requests to be submitted in person or by US mail, email, fax or a new online portal (TBA).

Go to the NC State Board of Elections for more information about absentee voting here.

Submit your Absentee Ballot Request form to be received by the your County Board of Elections before Tuesday, October 27, 2020 by 5:00 pm. Requests received after the deadline will not be deemed timely, regardless of postmark date, so don’t wait! Send in your form ASAP! If you change your mind, you can still vote in person during Early Voting or on Election Day.

If emailing your completed form, please print it out, sign it, scan it, and email it to your County Board of Elections as an attachment. There will be a portal available soon that allows you to submit the request form online.
If submitting by fax, send it to your County's BOE fax number published on their website.
For US mail, send it to the mailing address of your County Board of Elections.
If submitting in person, drop it off at the physical address of your County Board of Elections during their posted office hours.

Information about your County Board of Elections can be found here: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo/

Over 100,000 North Carolina Voters used Same-Day Registration to cast their Votes

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday November 05, 2016 · 8:40 PM PDT

2016/11/05 · 20:40

830px-North_Carolina_Presidential_Election_Results_by_Shaded_County__2008.svg.png

Because early voting and same-day registration give an advantage to Democrats, the North Carolina’s 2013 election reform bill, known as VIVA (Voter Information Verification Act) not only limited early voting but did away with same-day registration which allows someone to register and vote at the same time during early voting. In late July, the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling reinstated an extra week of one-stop early voting and struck down NC’s Voter ID law. It also struck down the prohibition on same -ay registration during early voting

Registrations closed on October 14, so anyone not registered by that date could only use same-day registration to vote in this election. Since October 20, the first day of early voting, over 100,000 North Carolina voters took advantage of same-day registration and registered and voted in the early elections.

These newly registered voters may very well mean the difference in several tight races, from President on down. Had the 2013 voter suppression law not been struck down, these people would not have been able to vote. As you can see in the table below, the greater number of these newly registered voters come from the 28 blue counties that Obama carried in 2012. The five largest blue counties in NC are Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Forsyth and Durham. Together, they account for 45,714 same-day registrations.

North Carolina Registrations as of 11/5/2016

	Registrations	Gains since 10/20/16	Registrations for 28 Blue Counties	Gains since 10/20/16
Total	6,896,349	100,643	3,467,585	59,510
Democrats	2,725,054	30,098	1,692,894	23,198
Republicans	2,079,619	28,997	807,020	10,122
Unaffiliated	2,059,579	40,105	1,040,611	25,344
Libertarian	32,097	1,443	17,060	846
White	4,789,218	48,747	2,048,042	22,360
Black or African American	1,530,967	17,925	1,035,191	14,297
Other*	741,735	40,420	483,104	26,886
Male**	3,086,398	39,079	1,523,741	21,879
Female**	3,654,287	41,287	1,842	23,690

* includes Asian, two ore races, American Indian, Hispanic, and Undesignated Voters

** does not include Undesignated Voters

North Carolina Early Voting Results - Top Seven Blue Counties: 3 Ahead of 2012, 4 Lagging.

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday October 25, 2016 · 6:57 PM PDT

2016/10/25 · 18:57

415px-North_carolina_presidential_election_results_2012.svg.png — North Carolina's 100 Counties in the 2012 Presidential Election

BEHIND: North Carolina’s Early Voting numbers are slightly behind those of 2012 but are encouraging overall despite the Republicans successful push to reduce hours and the number of locations in 23 of the 100 counties (see N&O article below). As of the end of voting on Monday, Oct 24, 649,550 ballots have been accepted, 576,593 at Early Voting sites and 72,957 mail-in ballots. That’s 9.6% of all registered voters. At a 11.5% turnout, registered Democrats lead Republicans (8.9%) and Unaffiliated (7.7%) voters. Women are outperforming men as 9.9% of all registered women have already voted and only 9.2% of all registered men. Since registered women outnumber registered men by almost half a million voters, this is clearly an advantage for Hillary Clinton. Very impressive: 10.3% of all registered Black or African American voters have already cast their votes, with women leading men 63% to 47%. African Americans make up 22.3% of the NC electorate. By comparison, 658,450 or 9.9% North Carolinians voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

The seven key counties to watch are Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Durham, Forsyth, Cumberland, and Buncombe. These are the 7 largest counties and all have a clear majority of Democratic Voters. If these counties perform better than in 2012, we are in good shape.

BEHIND: Mecklenburg County is the most populous county in the state with 697,423 registered voters. It currently has 10 Early Voting sites with another 12 sites opening on Oct 27. It also allows Sunday voting. Returns after five (5) days of early voting are: 64,915 ballots accepted, 54,315 at Early Voting sites. A total of 9.3% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots. By comparison, 72,613 or 10.7% Mecklenburg County voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

AHEAD: Wake County is the next most populous county in NC with 689,185 registered voters. It currently has 9 Early Voting sites with 11 more sites opening on Oct 27. Wake also allows Sunday voting. Returns after five (5) days of early voting are: 62,177 total ballots accepted, 51,709 at Early Voting sites. A total of 9% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots. By comparison, 52,666 or 8.3% Wake County voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

VERY MUCH BEHIND: One troubling outlier is the 3^rd largest county, Guilford County, with 355,470 registered voters. It only has a single Early Voting site open with no evening hours and it was closed last Saturday and Sunday as well. Twenty-four more sites are scheduled to open on October 27, so we should see Guilford catch up to the rest of North Carolina. Returns after three (3) days of early voting are: 8,599 total ballots accepted, 4,942 at the Early Voting site. A total of 2.4% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots. By comparison, 46,543 or 12.8% Guilford County voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

BEHIND: Another outlier is Forsyth County, the 4^th largest county in NC with 251,528 registered voters. It currently has a single Early Voting Site with no Sunday or evening voting. Wait times are over an hour. Sixteen additional sites will open on Oct.27. Returns after 4 (4) days of early voting are: 9,923 total ballots accepted, 5,753 at the Early Voting site. A total of 3.9% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots. Hopefully, this will pick up later in the week when the other sites open. By comparison, 10,413 or 4.2% Forsyth County voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting. It seems this county is a slow starter as 2012 ended with 45.7% early votes, higher than the state average of 41.9%.

AHEAD: Durham County is the 5^th largest county in NC with 224,972 registered voters. It currently has 5 Early Voting Sites and Sunday voting with 8 more sites opening on Oct.27. Returns after five (5) days of early voting are: 34,299 total ballots accepted, 33,122 at Early Voting sites. A total of 15.2% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots. Go Durham! By comparison, 30,728 or 14.4% Durham County voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

BEHIND: Cumberland County is a little smaller than Durham with 203,241 registered voters. It has 10 Early Voting sites with evening hours but no Sundays. Returns after four (4) days of early voting are: 18,728 total ballots accepted, 17,562 at Early Voting sites. A total of 9.2% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots so far. This is one of the counties hard hit by Hurricane Matthew. We hope that conditions improve soon so that voters can get to Early Voting sites. By comparison, 21,850 or 10% Cumberland voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

AHEAD: Buncombe County is slightly smaller than Cumberland with 195,690 registered voters. It currently has 5 Early Voting Sites and Sunday voting with 8 more sites opening on Oct.27. Returns after five (5) days of early voting are: 30,727 total ballots accepted, 28,137 at Early Voting sites. A total of 15.7% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots. Go Buncombe! By comparison, 25,845 or 14.4% Buncombe County voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

AHEAD: My own county, Orange County, is quite a bit smaller and with 116, 126 registered voters ranks 17^th but in terms of registered Democrats, it ranks 11th. It currently has 5 Early Voting Sites with evening hours but no Sunday voting. Returns after four (4) days of early voting are: 20,004 total ballots accepted, 18,739 at Early Voting sites. A total of 17.2% of the county’s registered voters have cast their ballots and 22.7% of the registered Democrats. Go Orange! By comparison, 14,595 or 13.1% Orange County voters had voted in 2012 by the end of the 1^st Monday of early voting.

www.newsobserver.com/...

North Carolina Early Voting Challenge: Can we do better than 2008?

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 23, 2016 · 8:46 AM PDT

2016/10/23 · 08:46

The table below reflects the Early Voting returns in North Carolina as of the end of voting on Saturday, October 22. One-Stop, or in-person early voting started on Thursday, October 20. Mail-in voting started last month, but constitutes a much smaller portion of early voting.

Remember, Obama carried NC in 2008 by a very narrow margin of 0.32% — or 14,177 votes - and lost NC in 2012 by 2.04% or 92,004 votes. Therefore, I am comparing the early voting data to 2008 rather than 2012 as 2012 were not winning numbers for North Carolina. If key voting groups exceed the early voting performance of 2008, we have a good shot at NC turning blue again.

Ending 0ct 22, 2016	# Ballots Accepted	Early Vote Percentages	Turnout Percentages	Registered Voters	One-Stop Votes	Mail-in Votes	0ne-Stop Percentages
North Carolina	452,216	100.00%	6.65%	6,795,706	385,410	66,806	85%
Democrats	217,997	48.21%	8.09%	2,694,956	195,241	22,756	90%
Republicans	124,135	27.45%	6.05%	2,050,622	97,180	26,955	78%
Unaffiliated	109,126	24.13%	5.40%	2,019,474	92,123	17,003	84%
Libertarian	1058	0.23%	3.45%	30,654	866	192	82%
Female	248,939	55.05%	6.89%	3,613,040	211,177	37,762	85%
Male	196,017	43.35%	6.43%	3,047,319	167,954	28,063	86%
White	319,137	70.57%	6.73%	4,740,471	262,196	56,941	82%
Black/AA	106,806	23.62%	7.06%	1,513,042	101,101	5,705	95%
Other*	22,692	5.02%	4.18%	543,193	18,979	3,713	84%

* Other includes Asian, American Indian, Hispanic, more than two races, and undesignated

To reach our goal in the next two weeks, we need to get:

more than 42% total Early Vote Turnout for North Carolina — let’s make it at least 43%

more than 47.2% total Early Vote Turnout for Democratic Voters — let’s push for 48%

more than 43.7% total Early Vote Turnout for Women Voters — 45% is reasonable in this election

more than 51.7% total Early Vote Turnout for Black Voters — outperforming all other groups again?

And If Republicans perform better than in 2008, we need to up the numbers even more. Republicans and Republican-leaning voters traditionally perform better on Election Day, so we need to press our advantage during Early Voting.

For comparison, see North Carolina’s Early Voting Results for 2008 and 2012 below. The differences may seem slight, but they mattered.

Early Voting 2008	# Ballots Accepted	Early Vote Percentage	Turnout %	Registered	One-Stop Votes	Mail-in Votes	0ne Stop %
Total NC	2,638,916	100.00%	42.00%	6,282,575	2,410,052	228,864	91%
Democrats	1,355,347	51.36%	47.22%	2,870,500	1,291,649	63,698	95%
Republicans	795,453	30.14%	39.66%	2,005,482	673,041	122,412	85%
Unaffiliated	486,300	18.43%	34.67%	1,402,471	444,727	41,573	91%
Libertarian	1816	0.07%	44.06%	4,122	1,699	117	94%
Female	1,486,174	56.32%	43.73%	3,398,704	1,357,975	128,199	91%
Male	1,129,405	42.80%	39.90%	2,830,385	1,031,435	97,970	91%
White	1,823,423	69.10%	39.59%	4,605,490	1,620,288	203,135	89%
Black/African American	701,898	26.60%	51.68%	1,358,124	685,194	16,704	98%
Other	59,583	2.26%	27.10%	219,843	55,396	4,187	93%

2012 Early Voting	# Ballots Accepted	Early Vote Percentage	Turnout %	Registered	One-Stop Votes	Mail-in Votes	0ne Stop %
Total NC	2,774,594	100.00%	41.89%	6,624,136	2,556,228	218,366	92%
Democrats	1,317,822	47.50%	46.11%	2,858,086	1,255,612	62,210	95%
Republicans	874,205	31.51%	42.81%	2,042,194	765,683	108,522	88%
Unaffiliated	576,273	20.77%	33.82%	1,703,934	529,129	47,144	92%
Libertarian	6294	0.23%	31.59%	19,922	5,804	490	92%
Female	1,549,821	55.86%	43.59%	3,555,274	1,426,577	123,244	92%
Male	1,194,098	43.04%	39.99%	2,986,346	1,101,530	92,568	92%
White	1,870,724	67.42%	39.81%	4,698,878	1,682,063	188,661	90%
Black/AA	757,427	27.30%	50.84%	1,489,771	738,521	18,906	98%
Other	134,869	4.86%	24.54%	549,636	124,657	10,212	92%

African American turnout in NC

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday November 04, 2012 · 5:44 PM PST

2012/11/04 · 17:44

is one for the history books. At the end of early voting on Saturday, 49.7% of all registered African American voters in NC had cast their votes. And of those votes, 61% came from WOMEN. By contrast, turnout among White voters was only 38.7%.

The person who deserves much of the credit for mobilizing the African American community is Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the North Carolina NAACP. He delivered a powerful GOTV speech during this year's NC NAACP State Conference:

Election 2012: The Heart of the Matter
http://www.youtube.com/...

Following the Conference, the NAACP launched its "Million Voters March III Campaign" with a tour around the state. The goal was to

1) Inspire one million African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, other minorities, progressive Whites, and friends in the labor and faith communities to vote early;
2) Challenge and report on tactics being used to suppress and block voter participation; and
3) Educate the electorate about the important and critical issues facing North Carolinians in this election.

It worked beautifully. With a legislature solidly under Republican control and the spector of a Republican governor rubber-stamping their regressive policies for the next four years, we here in North Carolina are facing a grim future even though President Obama will win with or without our state. We absolutely do NOT want to become another South Carolina!

Therefore, it is critically important that we keep the tremendous energy and momentum forward alive and burning bright after this election. Please join us on February 9, 2013, for the 7th annual HKonJ Rally and March - Mobilizing to End Poverty & Economic Injustice - when we bring the People's Assembly to Raleigh to demand of the General Assembly to do the People's business and not business as usual.

http://hkonj.com/

Early Voting Statistics in NC

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 29, 2012 · 12:59 PM PDT

2012/10/29 · 12:59

2012 General Election North Carolina Absentee Stats for 11/06/2012
updated: 10/29/2012 7am

One week of Early Voting to go! Unless there is a significant last minute surge, early voting will fall short of the 2008 numbers by about 5%. 42% voted early in 2008. We are on track to reach perhaps 37% this time. Even though voter registrations increased by 373,262, Democrats lost 296 registrants while Republicans gained 46,058 registrants. Most of the new registrations, a whopping 312,187 or 84%, went into the Unaffiliated column. The Democrats are getting their base out and so are the Republicans. The Unaffiliated are lagging behind in early voting, however, and it is they who will make the difference in this election.

Early voting is treated like absentee voting in NC; thus the break-down of ballots into ONESTOP which is in person early voting, CIVILIAN which is absentee voting by mail, and MILITARY and OVERSEAS absentee mail-in voting.

2008 Early Voting statistics are in parentheses.

Women not only outregister men, they outvote them as well in early voting.

The African American GOTV is impressive: 30% of North Carolina's African American voters have already cast their ballot. Black women drive this great turnout as they lead Black men 62% to 38% in early voting.

Total Requested Ballots: 1,623,448

Total Absentee Ballots Cast: 1,505,751 (2,638,915)
Total Registered Voters: 6,606,592 (6,233,330)
= Statewide Turnout so far: 23% (42%)

TOTAL Returned Ballots:
ONESTOP 1,377,850 (2,411,116)
CIVILIAN 119,802 (215,258)
MILITARY 3,956 (8,443)
OVERSEAS 4,143 (4,098)
TOTAL: 1,505,751 (2,638,915)

Based on Votes Cast:
Turnout Democrats: 50% (51%)
Turnout Republicans: 31% (30%)
Turnout Unaffiliated: 19% (18%)
Turnout Libertarians: 0.2% (NA)
Turnout Male: 43%
Turnout Female: 57%

Based on Total # of Voters:

Turnout Dem: 747,755 (1,355,390) 26% (48%)
Registered Dem: 2,849,683 (2,849,979)

Turnout Rep: 466,149 (795,456) 23% (40%)
Registered Rep: 2,040,552 (1,994,494)

Turnout Una: 291,308 (486,256) 17% (35%)
Registered Una: 1,697,674 (1,385,487)

Turnout Lib: 2,833 (NA) 15% (NA)
Registered Lib: 18,683 (NA)

Turnout White: 997,550 (1,823,420) 21% (40%)
Registered White: 4,709,937 (4,709,937)

Turnout Black: 438,002 (701,896) 30 (52%)
Registered Black: 1,479,237 (1,343,408)

Turnout Other: 72,493 (113,599) 17% (37%)
Registered Other: 417,418 (309,727)

Turnout Women: 841,972 (1,486,159) 24% Registered Female: 3,553,736
Turnout Men: 650,706 (1,129,398) 22% Registered Male: 2,979,025

Meet the Dream Walkers: Felipe, Gaby, Carlos and Juan - join up and walk with them

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 08, 2010 · 2:19 PM PDT

2010/04/08 · 14:19

The same day North Carolinian William Gheen, president of the virulently anti-immigrant organization ALIPAC, called on Congress to abandon the Constitution and subvert the 2010 Census data to crack down on undocumented immigrants in his relentless crusade against "the alien invasion," four courageous young immigrant students were making their way through North Carolina on their 1,500 mile walk from Miami, Florida, to Washington, D.C.

Felipe Matos, 23, Gaby Pacheco, 25, Carlos Roa, 22, and Juan Rodriguez, 20, decided that life in the shadows without a chance for a meaningful future was no longer tolerable. They saw their friends and schoolmates lose hope, drop out of school, sink into depression and turn to self-destructive behavior, including suicide. How can these young people believe in themselves if the country they call home does not believe in them or their future? So the four students decided that they had to break the silence and come out of the shadows themselves, risking detention and deportation, to raise awareness about the unbearable plight of undocumented youth in our nation. Thus the Trail of Dreams was born.

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday November 07, 2008 · 9:16 AM PST

2008/11/07 · 09:16

Dear DKos Community,

It has been a wild but sweet ride in the last couple of years, and I have checked in with you guys several times daily to get my bearings, catch the latest news, read your thoughtful and heartfelt diaries and comments, and replenish my batteries so I could go back out and do my part turning this country around. I feel I owe all of you something in return.

Therefore, before the call for change is thrown into the garage along with the Obama yard signs and we get distracted by the details, I want to share this poem by Langston Hughes. Many of you know it but probably won’t mind rereading these powerful words, a call to all of us from America’s collective soul. Print it out, stick it on the fridge, lest we forget what change we are working for.

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 26, 2008 · 9:11 AM PDT

2008/10/26 · 09:11

About mid-day on Saturday, October 25, One–Stop Voting in NC reached one million ballots cast. With another week of One-Stop Early Voting still to go, NC has already surpassed the early voting turn-out for the 2004 Presidential election by over 300,000 ballots.

As of the end of this week’s early voting on Saturday, October 25, the numbers for NC are as follow:

One-Stop Early Voting ballots cast so far: 1,084,781 (1,346,071)
Democrats: 626,231 (697,522)
Republicans: 271,895 (412,312 - includes sizeable military vote)
Unaffiliated: 185,890 (235,501)
Libertarians 575 (709)

African American Voters: 329,716 (349,689)
Women: 609,149 (754,218)
White Men: 321,205 (422,048)
Under 30: 129,316 (182,128)
Over 60: 366,728 (460,925)

Because One-Stop ballots are treated as absentee ballots, the total number of ballots cast so far includes the mailed-in absentee ballots as well. I indicated the combined number of ballots cast so far in parentheses.

These numbers are raw and contain unverified ballots, duplicates, spoiled ballots, ballots with conflicts, and ballots marked "did not vote."

heiderose1

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 10, 2007 · 11:05 AM PST

2007/12/10 · 11:05

Residents and businesses in Durham, NC, have been told that they must cut water use by another 20% after months of cut-backs that resulted in a decrease of 31% or face the possibility of water rationing and loss of production for businesses as the city struggles with the worst water shortage in its history. Durham, part of the rapidly growing Triangle area, is reaching its growth limit.

Durham, with just 59 [50 as of today] days left in its main water supply, could be on the front lines of this worst-case scenario.

Up to now, the prospect has been too far-fetched to entertain in detail, which is why there are few specifics in Durham ordinances about what would happen if the drought doesn't let up. Raleigh also lacks a set plan for an end-times-type drought.

Durham would ban industrial water use -- a potentially devastating economic blow. It would hit water-driven businesses such as car washes and laundries directly but also could force businesses to cut shifts or even lay off workers.

Residential water would be rationed, but it's unknown how that would be implemented.

http://www.newsobserver.com/...

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