There's more than one way to skin a (Citizens United) cat:

“Citizens United conferred expanded freedom to corporations and unions to make political donations, but exercising that freedom exposes companies and their shareholders to significant risk,” said Shelley Alpern of Trillium, which filed the proposals at 3M and Bank of America. “Better means exist for those in the business community to express their political and policy preferences that do not divert shareholder resources toward political ends that they may not support and which may cause public controversy.”

This article is somewhat dated, but if I heard the rep from Trillium on the radio a few minutes ago correctly, the proposal to discontinue BofA's political contributions will be voted on today. And it would be a public relations coup for the embattled mega-bank.

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, endorsed Patsy Keever, candidate for the U.S. House in North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District.

“The House of Representatives needs more people like Patsy Keever who are willing to fight for working families and Progressive values,” said Rep. Grijalva. “She is a champion of a strong public school system and will fight for the educational investments we need to make our workforce stronger.”

If you haven't read the revealing five part series on hospitals in North Carolina reported jointly by the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer, please do. This is the definition of good and important journalism. It is tragic that some nonprofit hospitals have lost their way, paying millions to executives while soaking patients. Carolinas HealthCare is busy suing Vietnam Veterans and attaching liens on the homes of people who struggle to get by while receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer support.

Please watch the video we made with Joyce Jones, one of the people profiled in the series. And go to the Facebook page of Carolinas HealthCare and ask them to change their ways.

Video below the fold.

Hat-tip to CWFNC for e-mailing this link. The ugly starts on page 37:

AN ACT TO: (1) ESTABLISH AN OIL AND GAS BOARD WITH JURISDICTION AND AUTHORITY OVER MATTERS RELATED TO OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE, INCLUDING THE USE OF HORIZONTAL DRILLING AND HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

Before I proceed, let me go ahead and say this up here so you can see it on the front page: This bill needs to be Vetoed with extreme prejudice as soon as it makes contact with Bev's desk. Here's one reason:

The nation's eyes are on North Carolina during this final week of the primary. Many marriage discrimination and equality battles are pending for November. We get to set the stage. If a southern state defeats this discrimination, then all the anti-discrimination campaigns will have a legitimate claim to viability, which is key for recruiting talented staff, volunteers, and donors. To steal a line from HKonJ, this is a movement, not a moment.

and this is a city run by Democrats:

City Manager Curt Walton announced Monday that upcoming shareholders meetings for Duke Energy and Bank of America will be the first to fall under Charlotte’s new Extraordinary Events law, that allows the city to put limits on demonstrators.

This law passed City Council with only one "no" vote and that was from John Autry. I would have expected better from our elected officials/

read more: Charlotte Observer

Unlike Pat McCrory, I have to work for living. No big company or law firm has been paying me to run for governor for the past ten years. But in my busy life of balancing a job with lots of travel, my family responsibilities, and BlueNC, I sometimes misplace things. For example, I recently lost my wallet and with it, my driver's license.

Fortunately, I was able to vote last week, even though I didn't have photo identification. I told the poll worker my name and address, I was handed a gerrymandered ballot, and I did my civic duty simply and quickly.

In Pat McCrory's perverted world, that would have been illegal. In Pat McCrory's perverted world, big business calls the shots on legislation, big government decides who gets to vote, and big religion determines who gets to marry.

So yeah. Screw you, McCrory.

It's almost never a good thing when the New York Times features North Carolina politics on its editorial pages, and yesterday's commentary on Thom Tillis' Amendment One is no exception.

Opponents of marriage equality have never been able to show any evidence that any harm is caused to heterosexual marriages by granting all American adults the right to marry as they choose — because there is no such evidence. With little more than a week to go before the May 8 contest, and early voting already under way, North Carolinians need to consider whether they really want to inflict this gratuitous bigotry on their fellow citizens and their children.

To speak or not to speak, that is the question:

With a primary and a statewide referendum less than two weeks out, and a national election looming, Triangle employees have more to talk about than just work these days. “At the workplace, it’s a common misunderstanding among workers that they have an unfettered First Amendment right to say what they want,” McAtee said. “That’s not necessarily true.”

The truth is, we live in a "right to work" state. Which loosely translated means, "you have very few rights". No union rep to mediate or arbitrate for you, and the bar an employer must meet before letting you go is set so low you could step over it without breaking stride. I'm not trying to scare you silent, just raise your awareness.