GOPers gone wild in North Carolina

What happens when delusional voters give Republicans complete control of a Statehouse? This bill to establish a state religion in North Carolina, along with the possible mandating of Christian prayer in all schools and public meetings, is getting all the buzz today. It doesn't say which religion they intend to establish as the one and only officially sanctioned church tasked with the praising of the Lord God. If this really happens I see potential for some heavy infighting between the Baptists and the Methodists. (Half kidding.)

I don't see this going anywhere myself. It's pure pandering for the fundie rubes that will be tied up in the courts for years if it ever passes. Besides, while everyone is chasing this shiny object, our local crackpot GOPers are busy piling up many more odious proposals. For instance, this bill making it illegal to enforce federal gun laws.

Then there's this bit of delightful bigotry, requiring criminal background checks for food stamps or other government assistance. Meanwhile, another bill seeking to expand the for-profit charter schools would practically forbid running the same sort of background checks on the teachers. What better way to look out for the children than send them to school hungry under the tutelage of potential pedophiles?

And while no one is watching, our resident Republicans are upping their efforts at suppressing the Democratic vote. The latest addition to this stinking pile of loopy legislation is a new requirement on college student voter registration:

RALEIGH, N.C. — A bill filed in the state Senate Tuesday would carry a tax penalty for parents whose children register to vote at their college address.

Senate Bill 667, known as "Equalize Voter Rights," would remove the tax exemption for dependents who register to vote at any address other than their parents' home.

The bill would also require voters to have their vehicles registered at the same address as their voter registration. That also could cut down on college student registration, since many students maintain their vehicle registration in their home counties.

As we all know, those damned elitist centers of higher edumacation are just loaded with filthy libruls. These same provisions "have also been rolled into a larger omnibus bill." That's the one "which would also shorten early voting days, ban early voting on evenings and weekends and prohibit same-day registration."

The omnibus is Senate Bill 666. Hard to think of a more appropriate draw of the filing numbers. [graphic via]