Yeah, I don't think that's on McCrory. But with all the other things that are on him, I'm curious if anyone still actually supportes McCrory or the NCGOP.

Do any of you still support him or the NCGOP?

2/20/2014 3:55:55 PM

We need to just elect Duke Energy Governor. We could eliminate McRory and all his cronies salary.

2/20/2014 3:58:13 PM

The best thing McCrony can do for his image and the state currently is to publicly throw Sk-Farva under the bus. If I hear that man make one more idiotic comment (such as the idea that oil may a renewable resource and the Russians know it), I may have to certainly rethink my allegiance to this state...

2/20/2014 10:55:51 PM

wait... oil is not renewable? fuck, I've had it all wrong for so many years!!!

2/21/2014 1:55:51 AM

you've had a lot of things wrong for many years

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/2013/01/08/oil-might-be-a-natural-resource-and-other-things-you-did-not-know/

2/21/2014 9:10:31 AM

aaronburro filters his gas so dinosaur bones don't clog his engine

2/21/2014 9:28:20 AM

http://www.wral.com/denr-gets-defensive-over-duke-deal-coal-ash-spill/13409648/?comment_order=forward

from comments section:

Quote :

" I know, lets get rid of all private companies and have Government operate everything. Hmmm, hope it is not the Feds though, they have polluted far far far worse than any company could ever do. Duke had a spill. They will end up paying for the cleanup. If they broke any laws, then they will be fined. Course both of these things will be passed to the rate payers, but if this was Government run then it would be passed to the taxpayers OH and as is usual only to those taxpayers that ACTUALLY pay taxes. Real strange how someone receives the benefits of goods and services from a business and somehow some really clueless thinking is bending this to be some sort of evil. I wonder, how much pollution do you think the average farm produces. Hmmm guess we better shut down those evil farms especially the corporate farms."

2/21/2014 9:53:10 AM

Yes, Duke Power passes it on to the rate payers and the government passes it on to the taxpayers.

Why, in that case, I guess I'll just choose a new power company!

2/21/2014 10:07:51 AM

Quote :

" They will end up paying for the cleanup. If they broke any laws, then they will be fined."

this kind of shit makes me so mad. until the dan river spill blew things up and made the press pick up the story, they actually weren't going to be paying for cleanup for the Asheville spill and their fine was peanuts. $99k for a study, and no requirement to remediate and clean up the spill, is criminal and is not adequate enforcement of federal regulations.

[Edited on February 21, 2014 at 10:09 AM. Reason : .]

2/21/2014 10:09:15 AM

This is something that I would like our lassez-faire libertarian hypercapitalist friends to explain. If they claim that costs of cleanups are just going to get passed along, then what's the point of environmental protection in the first place? In the libertarian Utopia I guess customers will just stop doing business with the offending company (you know, because a company would never try and obfuscate their involvement in a spill). How does that work in the case of an energy utility where they are the only place to go to for electricity????

2/21/2014 10:46:47 AM

Quote :

"How does that work in the case of an energy utility where they are the only place to go to for electricity????"

In a libertarian utopia that wouldn't even be the case. There would be options.

2/21/2014 11:44:26 AM

in a libertarian utopia their private compound would have a wood burning boiler for heat and electricity on the corner of their property. one of their 12 children would be responsible for keeping it going while on break from securing the perimeter of their property.

2/21/2014 12:08:04 PM

While I won't be too surprised if Duke can figure out a way to push cleanup costs onto ratepayers, I'm kinda skeptical that they'll be able to do it in the form of higher electricity rates.

Duke was just granted a rate hike (last year?), but the Utilities Commission (even after being stacked in Duke's favor by McCrory) cut the original requested hike in half. Then Roy Cooper litigated it all the way to the NC Supreme Court. They've got to justify any rate increase, and they just came off one of their best quarters ever (cold winter + rate increase = $$$). Oh, and there are a bunch of public comment opportunities in the process - You know people will turn out en masse against it at this point. It just seems like a really tough row to hoe, not that they won't try.

2/21/2014 12:11:16 PM

Quote :

"Anti-science NC leaders no laughing matter Rachel Maddow reports on the outrageous anti-science positions held by North Carolina governor Pat McCrory and his Secretary of the Department of Environment."

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/anti-science-nc-leaders-no-laughing-matter-162715715644

2/21/2014 1:05:08 PM

We now have a legitimate conspiracy whack-job in the government. Well done, Pat!

2/21/2014 5:53:17 PM

Oh come on, she is such a joke. Believing in abiotic oil doesn't mean that you believe in a Nazi conspiracy from this guys book, it just means you are dumb.

2/21/2014 6:01:03 PM

If you look at his history (founding partner of a law firm, CEO of an environmental mitigation company, etc.) it's hard to think he's that dumb. I think he's just using his weasel'y lawyer skills to play dumb while sourcing whatever studies/theories he needs to look out for corporate interests which he truly represents.

In other words, it's not that he's easily manipulated; it's that enough of our society is easily manipulated or downright apathetic that he can get away with it. You know there are some dumb motherfuckers out there who will hear him say these things and really think the liberal government is intentionally ignoring relevant nazi science to further their own agendas.

2/22/2014 11:54:44 AM

My point was that his belief in abiotic oil theory almost definitely doesn't come from that book. And also, even though scientific consensus is against abiotic oil, its disingenuous to call it a Naxi conspiracy. Maddow is basically Glen Beck, she just happens to have positions that are more true than Beck.

(and he was at a land banking company, his position didn't have anything to do with environmental issues)

2/22/2014 5:24:15 PM

Like hell is she like Glenn Beck. Yeah she can be a bit melodramatic sometimes, but Glenn is on another plane.

2/22/2014 6:02:45 PM

Trying to connect Skvarla to that book is no different than Beck's blackboard connections, and her shark is the same as when Beck plays professor

[Edited on February 22, 2014 at 6:40 PM. Reason : shark = snark]

2/22/2014 6:38:36 PM

Okay, I watched the video again in a more lucid state, and I agree that connecting Skvarla's beliefs to Corsi's book is kind of bullshit. That doesn't mean appointing Skvarla as the secretary of the DENR is any less of a terrible decision.

2/22/2014 10:57:18 PM

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/nc-utilities-chairman-testify-coal-ash-probe-22887608#.UyIBIHCifTU.twitter

Quote :

"Internal emails between staff at North Carolina's environmental agency show state regulators were coordinating with Duke Energy before intervening in efforts by citizens groups trying to sue the company over pollution leeching from its coal ash dumps. The emails were provided Thursday to The Associated Press by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which had filed notice in January 2013 of its intent to sue Duke under the Clean Water Act. Within days, the emails show a Duke lobbyist contacted the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, where staff exchanged messages discussing "how Duke wants to be sued.""

McCrory can still deny involvement, which could be legit. He may have had no idea. This is still his administration though, so I chose to post it ITT (instead of some of the others we've discussed coal ash in).

3/13/2014 4:01:34 PM

Are any of the ash ponds in question legacy ponds inherited from Progress?

I miss plain ol' Progress Energy.

3/14/2014 7:12:25 AM

i miss CP&L

3/14/2014 9:29:24 AM

^^I think so, atleast one of them. Some steam plant just south of Raleigh on the Cape Fear.

3/14/2014 2:37:45 PM

SMH

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/07/3766348/denr-appeals-ruling-that-gave.html?sp=%2F99%2F100%2F&ihp=1

Quote :

"NC agency appeals ruling that gave it authority to order halt to coal ash pollution "

4/7/2014 9:05:12 PM

*sigh*

4/8/2014 9:22:29 AM

McCrory is shameless and the NCGOP is clearly on the side of the polluters.

4/8/2014 10:15:43 AM

Has there ever been a clearer statement of "We will do anything within our means to avoid doing our jobs"?

4/8/2014 10:47:49 AM

I regret voting for Pat McCrory. I'm only glad of two things:

1) I've been out of the country for the NCGOP's reign of incompetence
2) Roy Cooper is going to run against him and I think Roy Cooper will beat his monkey ass because Roy Cooper does not have time for your shit.

4/9/2014 3:57:55 AM

lol

4/9/2014 8:13:25 PM

NC where we have shitty one term Governors back to back.

4/10/2014 12:50:59 PM

not that I or anyone else on this board was even aware that the state had a Poet Laureate until this, still pretty -worthy

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/14/4006164/mccrory-picks-his-poet-laureate.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

7/16/2014 12:46:38 PM

Perhaps it would make more sense to appoint someone who is more acclaimed. And it would have made sense to seek the Arts Council's and former Laureates' advice. And the fact that he didn't is somewhat confusing. But maybe it won't be such a bad thing to have a "common person" who is an activist for homelessness serving.

7/16/2014 1:08:02 PM

Perhaps McCrory hopes to reach out to a different crowd with this "common person.'

7/16/2014 1:14:41 PM

http://www.indyweek.com/artery/archives/2014/07/16/opinion-mccrorys-mean-joke-a-poet-laureate-whos-barely-a-poet?r

I kinda feel sorry for the lady

7/16/2014 2:48:54 PM

I didn't even know that such a position existed.

7/16/2014 4:35:04 PM

Lot of breath wasted on poetry

7/16/2014 6:48:46 PM

Surely, you jest.

7/16/2014 9:08:06 PM

some do not care for science and literature, among other things

7/16/2014 10:48:53 PM

And he doubles down:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/16/4010185/mccrory-poet-laureate-position.html

The problem is laureate kind of means elite.

7/16/2014 11:30:11 PM

People are making way too big a deal about the laureate thing. So what if she's not renowned for poetry... i'm pretty sure the position only exists for tokenism anyway.

McCrory is a douche, and this does symbolize that, but it's cruel to demonize the woman this way.

7/17/2014 12:16:25 AM

No one in the arts community really demonized, just McCrory's ignorance to process and his response on the matter basically pointing out that he made his selection to intentionally piss people off and undermine NC arts. I feel very bad for her anyway. Also, apparently she resigned tonight.

7/18/2014 12:46:40 AM

McCrory: We didn't know.
Republicans: Sounds legit.

Obama: We didn't know.
Republicans: How could he not know???!!!

[Edited on July 18, 2014 at 11:27 AM. Reason : obvious double standard is obvious]

7/18/2014 11:27:06 AM

8/4/2014 10:15:12 AM

bump for these Tree.com shenanigans.


I'm not really sure what to make of them, yet. Definitely seems sketchy to me, on the surface, though.

12/21/2014 4:53:03 PM

Please elaborate.

12/21/2014 9:04:31 PM

Someone correct me where I'm wrong:

PAT! was on tree.com board of directors circa 2012, resigned after elected governor but still received a payout in 2013 of $10,000+ . He didn't properly report that on disclosure forms, but he claims those forms weren't properly clear, this is probably what is the most unclear to me. Days after that payout he appointed several folks to the NC banking commitee that regulates lenders like tree.com.

AP reports the above, PAT! throws a hissy and releases press report claiming AP is "full of malice" and out to get him, he followed disclosure forms, etc.

[Edited on December 21, 2014 at 10:17 PM. Reason : it was more like a $180K payout, not 10K+]

12/21/2014 9:53:50 PM

Saw him walking his dog last week (guess he's back in Charlotte for the holidays). Dog seemed happy.

+1 credibility.

12/21/2014 11:20:16 PM

Rolls out "Tax Reform" plan to cut taxes.


Raises Taxes for most Taxpayers....

Quote :

"An Associated Press story over the holidays cited an analysis by the General Assembly’s own Fiscal Research staff showing that a married couple with two children that earns $20,000 a year will pay $262 more in taxes thanks to the “reform” McCrory keeps touting. A couple with two children that earns $250,000 a year will get a tax cut of $2,318. Quite a tax shift, indeed. Then there are the tax hikes on everything from movie tickets to mobile homes and the end of middle class tax breaks, like the popular 529 college savings plan. - See more at: http://courier-tribune.com/opinion/letters/reality-behind-mccrory-s-misleading-carolina-comeback#sthash.04P2BIOb.dpuf"

12/21/2014 11:56:00 PM