And the crazy train just keeps rollin':

Santorum will serve as an honorary speaker at the annual Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner sponsored by the Union County Republican Party. This year’s event is set for April 28 in Marvin. A crowd of about 300 is expected to attend, making it the largest in the Union County party’s history.

I don't mean to bash on Union County. I have friends in Union County. I'm not going to tell you what their names are, because, you know. It's Union County. I think there's a $200 bounty on Progressives there, like Sarah Palin's wolf foreleg thing. But the first thing that crossed my mind when I read this article was that segment on Mad TV called "Lowered Expectations". This is what they're lining up for:

It's still a miscarriage of justice, nonetheless:

"Prior to today's mediation, we had not personally met and spoken with Dr. Hill and Ms. Darrell," Titan said in a statement. "Having done so, we do not believe that either Dr. Hill or Ms. Darrell intentionally made any false statements about Titan or our plant in New Hanover County.

Here's a little request for you Republican "reformers" in the General Assembly: Why don't you take a break from kow-towing to corporations, just for a day or two, and pass some legislation that will protect citizens from the un-Constitutional suppression of their 1st Amendment right to free speech. It might make your efforts to grant a "get out of court free" card to big pharma seem less sleazy, in the overall legal reform "big picture", as it were.

In perhaps the most audacious attempt yet to turn a pile of happy horseshit into gold, Americans For Prosperity and the Civitas Institute are sponsoring a "Real Solutions" tour next week in an attempt to convince people that their deep budget cuts to education are *good* for North Carolina. Help us nip this insanity in the bud: please take a look at the tour stops in the article below and if you would like to get more involved in setting the record straight when they come near you, drop me a line: katymunger @ progressnc.org. We need to talk ... thank you!

(more after the jump)

N.C. Real Solutions Coming To a Town Near You

Author's note: Thank you to Pam Spaulding from Pam's House Blend for helping spread the word about the LTE campaign tool. Cross-posted from Democratic Muse.

At no time in history has denying basic freedoms stood on the side of what is right and just. Amendment One will potentially deny loving and committed unmarried couples the freedom to protect their families through healthcare benefits, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. There are very few freedoms more basic than protecting those you love.

A great opportunity to sharpen your blogging skills and connect with other bloggers in the coolest city in North Carolina. Tuesday, April 10. Check it out.

And yes, when demagogues are planning to use stuff like this to hurt unemployed workers even more, it makes a difference:

Improper payouts involving allegations of fraud hit an estimated $12 million during the same time period, around 2.4 percent of total payouts.

Actually, that's 2.4 percent of the improper payouts, not the total payouts. That alleged $12 million in fraud only represents less than 1/10 of 1% of the money paid out. Keep that in mind before you recommend draconian measures to fix a problem (fraud) that barely exists.

The more people learn about Amendment One, the more they dislike it:

The Elon University Poll results released today show that 61% of North Carolinians say they oppose an amendment that would prevent any same sex marriages, domestic partnerships or civil unions.

But this doesn't mean all the hard work you folks have been doing is over. It just means that it's working, that people are being educated. Here's another intelligent Republican who opposes this generational mistake:

Today I signed a Clean Campaign Pledge, and I asked all the Democratic candidates in the race to join me. I think voters are tired of mudslinging and attack ads. While I don’t believe my opponents in this race would participate in such despicable tactics, the Clean Campaign Pledge gives all of us an opportunity to promise that we will talk about the issues.

To read the entire Clean Campaign Pledge, click here. Below is an excerpt from the pledge:

As Democratic primary candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District, we hereby agree that the people of this district deserve a positive campaign. They deserve a campaign on the issues most important to them – not one full of cheap, divisive attacks.

In response to the news that thousands of NC businesses are not complying with workers comp insurance requirement:

House Speaker Pro Tem Dale Folwell, a Winston-Salem Republican, said the investigation illuminates a need for more reform of the workers comp system and pledged to call together people stakeholders to talk about possible solutions.

The only solutions you're interested in involve screwing workers even more than you did the last time: