The Libertarian Party of North Carolina urges voters to vote no on $2 billion Connect NC March 15.

“A bond is not free money,” the Libertarians said in a resolution passed unanimously by their executive committee. “It's a loan taken out with hefty interest that is left to the next generation to pay without their consent.”

“If an item is important enough then the state should budget for it, holding our elected officials accountable for the spending ...,” the resolution said.

The resolution also notes the bond will increase state government spending by an additional 10 percent of the entire state budget, but without the accountability that comes along with approving spending through a budget adoption process.

“Here's another example of the bait-and-switch tactic used by spending-addicted politicians,” said Brian Irving, LPNC vice chair. “The loan requests was originally introduced under the guise of needed transportation funding. But what's on the ballot is not actually for funding of transportation at all.”

The NC Green Party is organizing  a “political intervention” on the “broken two-party system” March 15. They're mobilizing volunteers to collect signatures on a petition to get on the ballot.

In their call to action, they say, “The Democrat-Republican corporate duopoly does not serve our needs. Over 28 percent of North Carolinians do not identify with either party. North Carolina needs more choices — choices that are not addicted to corporate money and the cycle of havoc it has caused.”

“Despite our disagreement on many issues, Libertarians and Greens have always been united in the fight for free elections,” said LPNC vice chair Brian Irving

“If every Libertarian got five signatures, we'd have an ally on the ballot to work with towards real debates, against media blackout of alternative views, and to challenge the status quo.”

“Here is a third reason for Libertarians to go to the polls March 15. Vote in the Libertarian presidential primary, vote against the bond, and help the Greens get on the ballot,” he said.

“Let's give the people of North Carolina real choices on election day.”

RSVP for the Green Ballot Day here.

NC Stop Torture Now will hold two vigils in Raleigh Monday, Feb. 15 calling on the likely Democratic and Republican candidates for governor to investigate North Carolina's torture taxi program, demand accountability, and provide restitution to those harmed.

The group will start with a press conference at 9 a.m. at the state Department of Justice, 14 W. Edenton St. Following a half-hour vigil, they will march to the Governor's Mansion at 200 N. Blount St. for a second vigil at 10 a.m.

Several speakers will address the group at 10:30 a.m., including Allyson Caison, NC Stop Torture Now; Manzoor Cheema, Movement to End Racism & Islamophobia; Jennifer Copeland, NC Council of Churches, and; Deborah Weissman, UNC School of Law. NC Stop Torture Now will hold two vigils in Raleigh Monday, Feb. 15 calling on the likely Democratic and Republican candidates for governor to investigate North Carolina's torture taxi program, demand accountability, and provide restitution to those harmed.

The group will start with a press conference at 9 a.m. at the state Department of Justice, 14 W. Edenton St. Following a half-hour vigil, they will march to the Governor's Mansion at 200 N. Blount St. for a second vigil at 10 a.m. 

Several speakers will address the group at 10:30 a.m., including Allyson Caison, NC Stop Torture Now; Manzoor Cheema, Movement to End Racism & Islamophobia; Jennifer Copeland, NC Council of Churches, and; Deborah Weissman, UNC School of Law.

Nic Haag, Libertarian candidate for state Senate 44, had this op-ed printed in the Lincoln Times-News:

The Old North State, one of the 13 original colonies, and home to the 82nd Airborne, is one of the most proud and patriotic states in the nation. Yet the North Carolina government promotes an economic practice more likely found in Stalin’s Russia than a pro-business right-to-work state, the Alcoholic Beverage Control commission.

The ABC commission is not just a government run monopoly, but an overly complicated web of embedded government employees making decisions for the public based on their own personal preferences, economic loyalties and occasionally even bribery. The concept of ABC commissions is a relic of the post-prohibition era, in which the North Carolina government controls every drop of spirit sold in the state. This is to ensure all due taxes are collected and exercise control over a product the government only begrudgingly lets people consume.

Read more here.