MetaFilter posts tagged with NC

No Lawful Status

Secret Life of Gravy — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:20:34 -0800

Coming this summer: North Carolina [will be] the only state that will clearly mark all people who are not U.S. citizens – everyone from business executives with “green cards” to students on visas – with a newly designed driver’s license. However, Republicans are trying to block the issuing of driver's licenses to immigrants who have qualified for a two-year reprieve from deportation. Those immigrants have been deemed by the federal government and the state attorney general’s office as being lawfully present in the U.S. Why is this happening now? For the first time in more than a century, North Carolina has a Republican governor, a conservative majority on the state Supreme Court and Republicans controlling both legislative chambers. Other recent proposed or passed legislation of interest: The harshest cuts in unemployment benefits in the country. Making female nipple exposure a felony punishable by imprisonment. Firing all the members of the states' regulatory bodies, including all the members of the Utilities Commission, the Coastal Resources Commission, the Environmental Management Commission, and the Wildlife Resources Commission.

Public Policy Polling: "Do you have enough Santorum in your life, or not?"

flex — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:28:59 -0800

How Polling Firm PPP Won The Election With Its Hilarious And Infuriating Questions: "Public Policy Polling, the firm that correctly predicted all 50 states in the presidential election, is known for asking some weird, quirky and, sometimes, controversial questions in its polls... Here are some of the firm's best questions of the election cycle." More from Business Insider - How A Three-Man Polling Team Completely Nailed Their Election Prediction:

While Nate Silver got a lot of attention for predicting the election through poll aggregation and statistics, Public Policy Polling nailed every state through first-hand polling... The firm conducted about 255 polls this election season — including 19 polls in the final four days. It went 50 for 50, and its 50-47 popular vote prediction is coming closer to fruition as all the ballots are tallied. Last week, PPP was rated the election's most accurate pollster. "It feels great," PPP director Tom Jensen told Business Insider. "It vindicates that we are making the right assumptions about the electorate." They didn't do it without receiving their fair share of criticism — because, like Silver, they did not try to hide the fact that they were openly rooting for President Barack Obama to be re-elected.

The Hill - Study finds PPP was the most accurate pollster in 2012:

A study conducted overnight found liberal-leaning pollster Public Policy Polling was the most accurate predictor of the 2012 presidential election... The analysis by Costas Panagopoulos, Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, also found that none of the 28 major polling outlets he analyzed showed bias toward either candidate in the national polls. “For all the derision directed toward pre-election polling, the final poll estimates were not far off from the actual nationwide vote shares for the two candidates,” he wrote.

NPR - North Carolina Polling Firm Spotlighted During Primaries:

Just a few years ago, not many people outside North Carolina knew of a small start-up called Public Policy Polling. It was founded by a Democratic businessman with no political experience. These days, PPP is one of the most prolific polling companies in the country, along with Gallup and Rasmussen. From North Carolina Public Radio, Jessica Jones has the story of a political start-up turned success story... JONES: Debnam is a soft-spoken, jeans-clad entrepreneur who runs two other successful companies. He started PPP after he got tired of seeing local Republican polls he didn't think were accurate. DEBNAM: I decided that the highest and best use of my time was to invest in something that made Democrats more competitive in races. And one of the things to do was to make polling more affordable. JONES: Traditional pollsters like Gallup still use real people to call prospective voters, but that's expensive. So Debnam set aside company phone lines for automated calls. PPP's polls cost as little as $1,500 for clients who range from local school board candidates to big Democratic interest groups... JONES: Jensen enjoys putting together wacky polls too, including a survey last year asking independent voters whether they'd support Sarah Palin or Charlie Sheen for president. Charlie Sheen won. But PPP hasn't neglected its original client base of Tar Heel Democrats. Alan Norman won his first election as a rural sheriff two years ago. He says Tom Jensen's polls helped him identify crucial voters. ALAN NORMAN: He said, you know, here's your weak area and here's where you need to go. And he gave us the numbers. He said you need to zero in and work harder on 65 and older, retired individuals, such as my parents. JONES: Norman says, by following PPP's advice, he won the public office he'd always coveted. And Public Policy Polling got what it wanted too: another Democrat in public office.

Criticism of PPP's "push poll" questions:

The Daily Beast - Obama’s a Muslim? PPP Polls in South Appear Designed to Bring Out Bias:
...every state has its not-so-admirable biases. And asking Republicans in these particular states—and evidently only these states—about these particular issues smacks not so much of political research as cultural profiling.
Betsy's Page - PPP's Clown Question:
I was polled on Sunday by PPP about politics in NC and, for the last question, they asked "Who was more responsible for killing Osama bin Laden, Obama or Romney?" I was just flummoxed. I couldn't figure out what it was doing in a poll of standard questions on whom I was going to vote for or if I approved or disapproved of certain politicians. Well, now it's clear what the purpose of the goofy question was - to generate stats so they could make fun of Republicans. Well, I'll confess - I answered "not sure." That wasn't because I wasn't sure but it was my way of registering how ticked off the question made me. As I tell my students, one problem that we can't account for in polling is that people lied. So I lied. Now my answer is part of a Comedy Central gag.
Washington Post's "Right Turn" blog - Exclusive: PPP caught doing advocacy polling on race:
Whit Ayres of the conservative Resurgent Republic (who also polls for National Public Radio) was taken aback as well. He said, “Particularly for liberals it is a very leading question.” He said, “Suppose a pollster asked, ‘Do you think the conservative media want voters to think Obama is anti-Semitic?’ People would come out of the frame.” Pollsters acknowledged that putting hot-button questions at the end at least did not taint the favorable/unfavorable result. But none of the pollsters I spoke with would have asked the question or thought it was appropriate. As one said, “It goes pretty far over the edge.”

Public Policy Polling say many of their questions are user-driven: they ask for suggestions on where to poll and what questions to ask - on Twitter as well as on their weblog.

Still voting on other people's rights

klangklangston — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:40:48 -0800

A preacher rebukes North Carolina media over asking the wrong questions about marriage. North Carolina votes today on Amendment 1, which states that, "Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State." Here are some of the people who would be affected.

Straight guy for gay marriage

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:42:10 -0800

Why A Heterosexual, Married, North Carolinian Father Of Three Cares About LGBT Equality. Married father of three boys writes eloquently about the reasons why he opposes the proposed constitutional amendment banning any legal relationship recognition for same-sex couples. The amendment goes before voters in May primary election, when heavy Republican turnout is expected. Meanwhile Senator Goolsby says that it is all about "empowering voters" "so no activist judge is able to decide on his or her own what marriage is." [original]

Hurricane Irene

booksherpa — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:12:37 -0800

Hurricane Irene is the worst hurricane to hit the northeastern US in 50 years. President Obama has signed Emergency Declarations for North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maryland. At least 8 people are known dead, and 2 million are without power. WEATHER/TRACKING

National Weather Service - National Hurricane Center: Irene

Weather Channel

Weather Underground

Accuweather

2011 Hurricane Season

NYT Hurricane Irene Tracking Map NEWS

CNN

Fox News

MSNBC GOVERNMENT

White House

NC | NY | VA | MA | CT | NJ | NH | RI | MD | DE | PA PREPARE

Ready.gov TWITTER FEEDS

@twc_hurricane

@stormpulse Please, stay safe.

“People are not going to befriend you unless there is something in it for them”

The Whelk — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:49:12 -0800

Bernie Madoff - Free At Last While incarcerated for 150 years for a $65 Billion dollar Ponzi scheme, Berine Madoff creates his own version of the events that led to his arrest and becomes a local celebrity at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex. (via metachat)

Crystal Lee Sutton

Fiasco da Gama — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:14:52 -0800

Crystal Lee Sutton was fired for trying to organise a union. The incident was made into the 1979 film Norma Rae. Last week she died at the age of 68.

Jimmy Smith Park

xorry — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:26:05 -0800

Jimmy Smith Park. Breadcrumbs so you can find your way back: Jimmy Smith Park -> About -> Rivers Park -> Dreams about Drunks -> The evolution of previously.

Former United States Senator Jesse Helms, 1921 - 2008.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:22:18 -0800

Fmr. US Senator Jesse Helms, 1921 - 2008. Wikipedia | Wikiquote | Collection of attributed quotes (unsourced)

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

ericb — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:46:01 -0800

Newsfilter: The State Attorney General of North Carolina, who took over the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case and conducted his own investigation after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong withdrew from the case when the North Carolina State bar filed ethics charges against him, has dismissed the remaining charges against the three players originally accused of first degree forcible rape, first degree sexual offense, and kidnapping. [previously discussed].

Ten Year Anniversary of Webcasting

Duck_Lips — Sun, 07 Nov 2004 14:17:23 -0800

WXYC, the oldest web radio station celebrates ten years today. Chapel Hill, NC. Pretty good station too.

A possible murder suspect's google-trail?

moonbird — Fri, 02 Apr 2004 15:14:32 -0800

A possible murder suspect's google-trail of dark and bloody tales?

A contributing writer for 'Deviant Minds' webzine (scroll down a few clicks to Donn Gash) may be linked to the gruesome murder of his father. His mother has already been charged.

No one wins MoveOn primary...

Artifice_Eternity — Fri, 27 Jun 2003 10:45:48 -0800

No winner in MoveOn primary... but Dean places first, with 4387%. No candidate getting over 50% means no endorsement for now. But more people voted in this virtual Democratic primary than voted in the New Hampshire, Iowa, and North Carolina Democratic primaries/caucuses in 2000.

Broken Arrow: Goldsboro, NC.

milnak — Mon, 08 Jan 2001 18:14:07 -0800

Broken Arrow: Goldsboro, NC. On Tuesday, 24 January 1961, at about 12:30 a.m., two hydrogen bombs fell to earth near the tiny farming village of Faro, NC...

An interesting read.