Beyond Parody

Republican members of the N.C. General Assembly, I'm looking at you. 

If there was any lingering doubt about the continuing need for the Moral Monday protests, well . . . 

As hydraulic fracturing ramps up around the country, so do concerns about its health impacts. These concerns have led 20 states to require the disclosure of industrial chemicals used in the fracking process.

North Carolina isn't on that list of states yet—and it may be hurtling in the opposite direction.

On Thursday, three Republican state senators introduced a bill that would slap a felony charge on individuals who disclosed confidential information about fracking chemicals. The bill, whose sponsors include a member of Republican party leadership, establishes procedures for fire chiefs and health care providers to obtain chemical information during emergencies. But as the trade publication Energywire noted Friday, individuals who leak information outside of emergency settings could be penalized with fines and several months in prison.

I mean really, how do you parody shit like this? Nobody would believe you if you created a mustache twirling villain based on any Republican in the state legislature.

It is really sad that the awful legacy of the 2010 election and subsequent gerrymandering continue to have such dire consequences.