In a total affront to any and all privacy The North Carolina Department Of Revenue FLEW to Seattle to demand Amazon product all records for purchases by North Carolina residents from 2003-2010. Note I capitalized “FLEW” because instead of licking a stamp or using a courier service some enterprising soul in Raleigh figure out how to get a free vacation on you on me by hand delivering the demand letter to Amazon. So not only does the state want to know what you have been reading but they want you to pay for them to find it out while they take cross country flights, stay in hotels and have a nice dinner!

Amazon seeks a declaration that the DOR’s ongoing demand for information that will disclose the names, addresses and purchasing habits of Amazon’s North Carolina customers violates the rights of Amazon to sell, and its customers to purchase, books, movies, music, and other lawful expressive content free from government intrusion into the customers’ reading, viewing and listening choices.  These rights are secured under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Article I, sections 4 and 5 of the Washington State Constitution, and federal law.  The DOR’s demand for the identity of customers who purchased video material also violates the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, 18 U.S.C. § 2710.  Declaratory relief from this Court is necessary to avoid piecemeal litigation or inconsistent rulings in the event other states make similar demands for customer data.

Of course Amazon has turned around and filed an immediate suit to block this request as it flies in the face of any number of court rulings that such information is private however now guess what, we get to send lawyers and their team to Seattle to argue that North Carolina does have a right to this information. Not only are you being asked to provide the state with Federally protected information but your being forced to pay to argue against your own personal rights in a court clear across the country!

The DOR has no business seeking to uncover the identity of Amazon’s customers who purchased expressive content … let alone associating customers’ names and addresses with the specific books, music, and video content that they have purchased,” Amazon wrote. “The collection and disclosure of the customer data … will link those purchases directly to the customers’ names and addresses, exposing their otherwise private reading, viewing, listening and other personal choices to government scrutiny

Please everyone take the time to read this great post on cnet which highlights exactly why North Carolina has no legal right to this information and contact your Representatives in Raleigh immediately. This is not a Left or Right side of the issue debate this is your personal privacy, protected by multiple Federal laws and court cases which the fools in Raleigh don’t seem to care about. While you have your Representative on the phone ask them who went to Seattle, did they fly coach and at what cost, where did they stay and eat and what was the final tally for hand delivering a letter to Amazon.

ACTION ALERT…NC Gov Bev Perdue Demands To Know What you Bought at Amazon

Amazon: NC bid to track taxes violates free speech

To read the full complaint Amazon has filed click here: Amazon v. Kenneth Lay

Former Governor Easley had his day before the North Carolina State Board Of Elections and the results could lead to Easley joining the long list of NC jailbird politicians. From House Speaker Jim Black to former Whip Frank Ballance or former Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps the list of political figures in this state that have been sent to the big house is growing daily.

The State Board Of Elections found former Governor Easley  guilty of not reporting campaign use of private jets and submitted there findings and evidence to the Wake County District Attorney for further investigation. The board fined Easley $100,000 and suggested that campaign finance laws were violated. Furthermore there are ongoing state and Federal investigations into Easley for a land deal and attempts to hide campaign uses of private jets.

Budget Deal Not Complete But A Big License Plate Will Cost You $100

Although the state is still operating without a budget it appears elected officials had time to pass a bill to outlaw large license plate frames and sent the bill to Gov. Perdue to sign. At the same time state Democrat leaders have been meeting to iron out the new $19 billion budget that calls for cuts in school spending for grades 7-12 including staff and teachers, raises the sales tax by a penny which will now include many services as a taxable sale, increase taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, increase income taxes by as much as 3%, and cuts in tax revenue disbursements to local jurisdictions by as much as 66%.

As The Start Of School Nears Local H1N1 Cases Increase

State medical officials stated recently that the number of H1N1 cases in North Carolina has neared 500 with as many as 90 cases in the Triad Region alone. As the start of school nears officials are taking notice and have emphasized good hygiene such as frequent washing of hands however as of now they have no special plans for H1N1 that they wouldn’t apply to any other outbreak.  The CDC has reported as many as 40% of the population will get H1N1 over the next two years and has planned for multiple flu vaccinations started as early as September. For more information in H1N1 visit www.noflu.org.

North Carolina Fisherman Lost And Presumed Dead At Sea

Michael L. Dodick has been missing since July 9th after being reported late for returning from a fishing trip off Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. On July 10th the Coast Guard located Dodick’s 28 foot boat adrift with the engines running and all fishing lines broken.

Amazon sent the following out to all Amazon Associates in the wee hours this morning:

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account has been closed as of June 26, 2009. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional tax collection scheme expected to be passed any day now by the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) and signed by the governor. As a result, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com after June 26. We were forced to take this unfortunate action in anticipation of actual enactment because of uncertainties surrounding the legislation’s effective date. Read the rest of this entry »

Looks like more North Carolina Government officials are under investigation as on Friday the FBI served a subpoena on Ex-Governor Easley, or rather on the Highway Patrol, for records pertaining to his use of Private Jets as far back as 2000. There is a Grand Jury investigation going on tied to the N.C. Board Of Elections investigation on trips Easley took as well as vehicles he and his family used.

In breaking news, and let’s not hope a “break-out” a contractor cut a Fiber Optic line or lines which services the North Carolina Court System. Apparently this severed all communications into the various central court database putting a halt to numerous cases, payroll hearings, bail and so forth throughout North Carolina on Tuesday. ATT&T has reported service was restored in around 6 hours.