Civil Liberties
Perhaps because of the large number of outspoken and thoughtful people in our community, we have often found ourselves at ground zero in battles over civil liberties. In the 1980's Chapel Hill elected the first openly-gay elected official in the state, but Carrboro bested that by electing North Carolina’s first out mayor a decade later.
More recently, Chapel Hill grappled with free speech issues in the wake of 9/11, approved and then dismantled red light cameras in 2003-4, and was challenged by fundamentalists over support for gay marriage in 2005.
After reading about changes made in Watauga County, I was prompted to write a letter to the Orange County Board of Elections after several constituents voiced concerns about decision making in other counties. Below is that letter.
Dear Members of the Orange County Board of Elections,
I am
writing in response to concerns voiced to me by constituents in the
Orange County community after actions taken by the Watauga County Board
of Elections and the Pasquotank County Board of Elections.
This
week the Watauga County Board of Elections took action, which
consolidated three precincts into one large precinct numbering nearly
10,000 voters and where the polling place has only 35 parking spaces.
They then took action to reduce early voting to four days and eliminated
early voting at the Appalachian State University campus. All of these
actions were made in secret and not shared with the Democratic member of
the Board, yet the Watauga County GOP chairwoman was fully aware of the
coming actions. To add insult to injury, the Board did not allow verbal
comment from the public, instead opting for written comment only.
On Friday August 16th Internationalist Books in Chapel Hill
will host a debate/discussion at 6 p.m. regarding the new zine “The
Issues Are Not The Issue” with the author (a former environmental
activist) and current organizers from Katuah
Earth First! and Panagioti from the Earth First! Journal Collective.
Panagioti Tsolkas New father and current editor on the EF! Journal
collective and EF! activist organizer since 1997. From 2000-2004 he was
a trainer for the Ruckus Society. In 2004 he ran for the Mayor of Lake
Worth, Florida. Since 2005, Tsolkas has been co-chair of the grassroots
Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition, a group which files
litigation regarding development issues in the Everglades and has been
on the planning committee for 3 national Earth First! Organizers
Conferences (2000, 2006 and 2008). In 2009, Panagioti spent 5 months
traveling with the Earth First! Roadshow group. In 2010 Panagioti
co-founded Uncivil Landscapes, a work collective which creates part-time
income opportunities through native landscaping for local activists in
South Florida. He is presently on the steering committee for the Night
Heron Grassroots Activist Center in Lake Worth. Tsolkas was named
‘Troublemaker of the Year’ in 2009 and ‘Activist of the Year’ for 2010
by New Times magazine (Broward/Palm Beach edition). He has no formal
education past 10th grade; he is diploma-free and proud.
Date:
Friday, August 16, 2013 - 6:00pm
Location:
Internationalist Bookstore 405 W. Franklin St.
It’s about to get a lot harder to vote in Orange County, at least for some of us.
The Republican majority in the General Assembly clearly feels that the racist, anti-woman, anti-urban, and very anti-liberal redistricting which took place last year didn’t do enough to solidify their entrenched majority. Now they’re hard at work systematically disenfranchising people who are unlikely to vote for them. Stringent voter identification requirements, shortened early voting, and other impediments to voting have been proposed in the General Assembly and are all likely to pass.
But of particular note to us in Orange County is the aptly-numbered Senate Bill 666. The most significant change in SB 666 isn’t in chapter 163 which governs elections; rather, it’s a change to the tax code:
I've been a huge fan of Lessig's work for some time, and I can tell you from experience that he's a really great public speaker. You'll come away smarter after listening to him.
On March 4, the Center for Media Law and Policy will host a public address by Professor Lawrence Lessig, the
Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School,
and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard
University. Prior to rejoining the Harvard faculty, Prof. Lessig taught
at Stanford Law School, where he founded the school’s Center for
Internet and Society, and at the University of Chicago.
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will tackle one of
the most challenging problems we face: corruption in politics. How have
good people, with good intentions, allowed our democracy to be co-opted
by outside interests, weakening our institutions and especially public
trust in those institutions? What role has the media played in this
weakening and what should be its role going forward?
Please join us on March 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the UNC Law School when
Prof. Lessig will discuss how we can root out corruption in our politics
and restore faith in the Fourth Estate’s role as a watchdog of
government.
Date:
Monday, March 4, 2013 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
The FBI labels animal rights and environmental activists the
“number one domestic terrorism threat,” and new laws turn activism into
“terrorism” if it hurts corporate profits. How did this happen? Why are
undercover investigators and those who use non-violent civil disobedience being
treated so disproportionately? And what are the real life consequences for the
activists who are investigated, and even sent to prison, as domestic
terrorists? Journalist Will Potter and activist Jake Conroy will explore these
questions from first hand perspectives.
Date:
Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - 7:00pm
Location:
104 Howell Hall, UNC Campus
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
