You should turn off the TV/social media for awhile man. Seriously, for your own inner peace and piece of mind. I say this as someone who genuinely likes you.
NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson didn't vote on state's Helene emergency declaration, records show North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who has called on Gov. Roy Cooper to deploy more resources to help people in western North Carolina, was the only Council of State member to not vote on Cooper's request to declare a state of emergency, records show. As a deadly storm system approached the southeastern U.S. last week, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s office asked top state officials to support his call for emergency help. He needed approval from the other elected officials in North Carolina’s executive branch, a group of nine known as the Council of State, to exercise certain authorities under the N.C. Emergency Management Act. Their blessing would enable the Democratic governor to more easily mobilize rescue vehicles, order evacuations and begin other emergency actions by waiving some of the state’s transportation regulations for heavy vehicles. Within an hour of making the request on Sept. 24 — before Helene ravaged the western part of the state — most of the council had responded with supporting votes. But come 9 a.m. the next morning, one member had yet to cast a vote: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor. Cooper has deployed more than 700 members of the North Carolina National Guard, who have helped rescue more than 400 people and dozens of animals in western North Carolina, where flooding and mudslides have crippled road networks, left more than 1,000 people homeless and dozens dead. Guardsmen and other volunteers have delivered hundreds of pallets of water and food since the storm started. Meanwhile, dozens of shelters are housing more than 1,100 people. And President Joe Biden approved Cooper’s request for expedited federal support. Despite not weighing in on the emergency declaration, Robinson has spent recent days needling the Democratic governor to do more. On Sunday, he called on Cooper to send more resources and National Guard personnel to lead additional search-and-rescue teams. In a social media post on Tuesday, he added: “North Carolina must follow the lead of successful governors like [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis]. Cut the red tape. Stop waiting on federal resources and allow private industry in to assist with rescue and recovery efforts, and repair infrastructure immediately.” Jordan Monaghan, a spokesman for the governor, said Robinson’s comments mischaracterized the scope of the relief efforts. "An online disinformation campaign by the lieutenant governor during an unprecedented crisis is unhelpful, causes confusion in areas with limited communications and potentially puts lives at risk,” Monaghan said in a statement. “State, federal and local partners are leading a massive, coordinated response to a catastrophic storm. The governor declared a state of emergency well before this storm hit, has led public briefings from the Emergency Operations Center since last week, and continues to visit affected regions to coordinate more resources. Resources from across the state and country are deployed to help the people and communities of western North Carolina." Robinson and Cooper have long had a frosty relationship. Robinson’s recent social media posts reflect that. That he didn’t vote to approve the emergency measure could underscore a widening disconnect between Robinson and other members of the Council of State — a chasm that has become more glaring in the wake of the storm, some political observers said. “It’s inexcusable in a time of crisis,” former Gov. Pat McCrory said of Robinson’s lack of participation in the vote. McCrory, a Republican, led the state in 2016 when Hurricane Matthew caused flooding in southeastern North Carolina. McCrory said he made a point to ensure the Council of State was on board with his decisions in the wake of Matthew. Robinson’s participation in meetings for boards and commissions on which he sits has come under scrutiny on the campaign trail. McCrory said the lieutenant governor’s comments about other state leaders are unhelpful. “This is not a time for criticism,” said McCrory, who has been a critic of Robinson prior to the storm. “This is a time for working together as a team and asking how you can help. I'm sure there are people who feel stranded out there, but right now is not the time to start throwing arrows.” Organizing relief efforts is like drinking from a fire hose, McCrory said. People should reserve their criticism of emergency response leaders for when they’ve had a chance to review the full scope of the situation and the decisions that were made, he said. “You don't do that while they're still in the middle of search and recovery,” McCrory said. “And they are still in search and recovery.” ‘With or without my vote’ The governor didn’t previously need permission from other executive branch leaders to take certain emergency actions, but the Republican-led state legislature changed the law following the Covid-19 pandemic. The Republican-majority Council of State can now choose to block Cooper’s actions. But the vote to approve Cooper’s Helene action was unanimous, aside from Robinson’s lack of response. State law says that any member's failure to respond within two days counts as a "yes" vote, and Cooper’s request would have been approved even if Robinson had voted against it. Robinson previously voted to approve some of Cooper’s emergency declaration requests, including in January ahead of severe winter weather and in August ahead of Hurricane Debby. It’s unclear why he didn’t respond to Cooper’s Helene request. When asked Tuesday why he didn’t vote to approve the declaration, Robinson’s state office issued a statement that didn’t address last week’s vote. Krishana Polite, Robinson’s chief of staff, said he’s been traveling to some of the areas affected by the storm. “All hands on deck means just that, including the hands of every single elected official in this state,” Polite said in a statement on Tuesday. “We need to be boots on the ground, working to rescue the citizens of this state-just as Lieutenant Governor Robinson and his team have been doing 24/7 for days now.” Asked again Wednesday why he didn’t vote, after this article had been published, Robinson was again asked why he didn't vote for the resolution. “I don't even need to cover why," he told reporters. "… That vote was going to pass with or without my vote. So it was absolutely inconsequential.” https://www.wral.com/story/nc-lt-go...-emergency-declaration-records-show/21653112/
TV and social media have little, if anything to do with it. I do not watch network TV (other than last night) and the only social media I participate in is this "sports" forum. What I do is read from a very wide variety of sources, encompassing countless viewpoints. Then I make up my own mind. But an indisputable fact is that the level of discourse in this country has gone exponentially straight into the toilet since Trump first ran for office. It has been hammered on ad nauseum; He made it okay to be rude, rascist, misogynistic and anti democracy and if we don't like it, tough shit. Sorry, but it isn't okay to be an asshole to other people for no good reason. Civility matters. We can't even have honest conversations anymore because lies are more important. I have friends and family that I have had to distance myself from because all of a sudden they have been given "permission" to be who they truly are, and now that they have that "freedom" they just can't let it be. It's more important for them to "own the libs" than just have a quiet and amicable beer. Perhaps I should thank the Right for showing me what I guess I should have seen all along. But most importantly, I have always struggled with those who use religion to justify bad behavior (and having been raised a Catholic, I have had a great deal of that bullshit). Call it a character flaw. But Trump wipes his ass with religion and the Right eats it up. The amount of sincerely stupid people in this country makes me lose all hope. I don't claim to be the most religious guy in the world, but I was raised within a religious structure. I DO still believe in a great deal of what I was taught. Trump had NO religion. He doesn't (literally) even know which end of the Bible is up. I personally find his use of St. Michael to justify his transgressions to be incredible offensive, not to mention utterly tone deaf and hypocritical. I have every right to be offended, not only by his disrespect, but by the fact that so many of my fellow Americans are okay with it. So sue me.....
These photoshops and homo-erotic art are 100% rage bait. People who aren’t on either side make this stuff and then kick back and revel in the ensuing chaos. I actually respect this level of trolling because it targets the lowest common denominators on each side. You get the dumbest conservatives reposting it with prayer hand emojis, and the dumbest liberals screaming “NUH UH!! HE DID NOT!!!” It’s actually brilliant.
Yeah well the guys who says this: Looks silly after saying this: Perhaps instead of screaming about how ‘Donald Trump’ is the one causing all the divisiveness in this country, you should examine your own contribution to it. This is such a liberal blind spot. They literally kick and scream, berate and insult until they are out of breath…then turn around and throw up their hands confused as to why the country is so divided. It’s because you made it that way, friend.
Aaaah.....so this is all just some Trump inspired, Jedi mind trick, eh? It's all the fault of people like me for responding to his lying, divisive bullshit??? Gotta agree that I probably should be above be reacting, but then you should be honest enough to recognize the genuine threat he and his ideas and actions (along with too many of his followers) pose to this country. Next I guess you'll want me to apologize for actually caring. It's what Boomers do.......WTF do you think is gonna happen if no one does care? Should we just wait around and see?? Sorry, but the first installment was enlightening enough for a shit load of us. But I'm glad you are in a position to be blithe about it. Wyoming is such an isolated little bubble......
Yeah, but did Trump ever (allegedly) lie about working at McDonalds or that he was a gun owner? And did he ever change from being an Indian to being black? And now I'm hearing people are claiming she's Asian too??
When Trump claims he's a stable genius it's really in reference to horse stables....nobody can endlessly shovel more horseshit day after day than he can
I don’t buy into the fear mongering boogeyman shit. You can “BOOGA BOOGA!” all you want, at the end of the day it just makes you look silly, not me. He was already president for four years, nothing significant happened. Stop dunking on yourself. about themselves mostly, as the economic state of the generations will show, but that’s another rant. I’m in different cities and states nearly weekly. I travel constantly and meet new people constantly. I stay everywhere from any of the major cities in the West and Midwest, to the smallest towns. I am much more traveled than 90% of the population, and that includes the people in this forum. Me choosing to reside in one of the prettiest places on earth has little to do with anything. Save the Wyoming shtick for the round guy who can’t spell. You’re better than that.
