Bush Republicans have engaged in unprecedented obstruction. They have used every delaying tactic available to them, including filibusters and secret holds. But Bush Republican efforts to block floor consideration of even bipartisan and non-controversial bills clearly reveals their strategy: block everything.

Below is a list of the non-controversial, bipartisan bills blocked by Bush Republicans this morning.

ALS Registry Act. S. 1382, which would authorize $75 million for fiscal 2008 to create a registry with the Centers for Disease Control to collect and analyze data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The bill was passed out of committee and has 67 bipartisan co-sponsors.

On July 27, 2007 Governor Mike Easley signed Senate Bill 753: Disability History and Awareness Month into law. Starting today North Carolina recognizes October as Disability History and Awareness Month.

In honor of Disability History and Awareness here are some facts on Disability in America today.

• Senate Bill 753 was created during the North Carolina Youth Leadership Network Summit in August of 2006. Seventy-eight youth from around the state gathered to learn about disability history. These amazing young people met with elected officials during this past legislative session to encourage them to support this bill. Their voices and actions made this law a reality.
• North Carolina was the third state to pass this legislation. The first was West Virginia.
• In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Act was founded on four principles: inclusion, full participation, economic self-sufficiency, and equality of opportunity for all people with disabilities.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law.
• According to the 2000 United States Census there are 1,117,577 people with disabilities living in the State of North Carolina.
• According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2003-2004 school year 193,956 students with disabilities were being served in North Carolina.
• Disability History and Awareness Month in North Carolina will increase public awareness and respect for people with disabilities who comprise a substantial percentage of North Carolina's population, teach future generations that people with disabilities have a rich history and have made valuable contributions throughout North Carolina and the United States, and ensure future generations understand that disability is a natural part of life and that people with disabilities have a right to be treated as individuals above all else.

Former State Party First Vice-Chair, and former State Party Minority Affairs Chair, Ed Smith passed away Sunday morning. He was 56 years old.

With over 65 campaigns and political committees on his resume, Ed Smith redefined the term "party activist." In the 2000 Gore-Lieberman campaign alone, Ed served as Co-Chair of the N.C. Gore-Lieberman Steering Committee, and as a member of the national steering committees of African-Americans for Gore-Lieberman and Americans with Disabilities for Gore-Lieberman. Ed served in similar positions in the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign, while also serving as the Clinton-Gore whip at the National Convention. A graduate of St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Ed spent most of his career in state government, rising to the position of Director of the Civil Rights Division of the state Office of Administrative Hearings. He also served on the executive committee of the Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities.

Adam Behsudi, Asheville Citizen-Times

State first lady Mary Easley will join Wildwater Rafting on the Nantahala River on Saturday to raise money for cancer research during the annual Raft for the Cure.

The event, held in conjunction with the 11 other outfitters of the Adventure Gateway organization, will attempt to raise more than $8,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Although all rafting trips are counted toward the donation, the featured rafting trip is the 2:15 p.m. Nantahala trip, which returns to Wildwater’s Rafting Center at 5 p.m.

A reception follows at 5:30 p.m. The program includes an acknowledgment of attending cancer survivors, the presentation of the donation to the Komen Foundation representative as well as a few words from Easley. Light snacks and drinks will be provided.

The Eastern Caravan is complete; Jerry just returned the van to the rental place. Young Dems President Zack Hawkins put about 17 hours of driving into that van, so we got our money's worth out of it.

Here is a synopsis of what we encountered and achieved:

• 8/10, Lumberton: We sent groups out to most of the major neighborhoods of Lumberton to do a listening canvas. All over the city people talked about healthcare concerns, usually with other concerns (education, housing, jobs) woven into their story. We got some of these responses on video. As we drove out the bank clock blinked 107... 4:05pm... 108 (degrees Fahrenheit).
• 8/10, Clinton: Despite lightening, hard rain, and what Ben Akroyd described as "tornado sky," we sent groups out to canvas middle income neighborhoods. Because of the intermittent storms, people invited us into their homes so they could register to vote. Ben and Tara Ilsley met a man who was forced to have some surgery. The surgery cost $74,000. To pay it off, he faithfully sends a check for $20 every week. He said he was 66 years old, and if he lives to be 110 he'll have finally paid off his "debt" (his word, not ours). He went on, "I never have considered myself poor, but I've always thought the government ought to do more for people in a worse shape than I am." While canvassers were hitting the neighborhoods, Jerry met with over 40 local party leaders from Sampson and neighboring counties. 
• 8/11, Greenville: We assembled care packages with Give 2 The Troops. The Program Director repeatedly stressed the point "you can support the troops without supporting the war." We assembled over 50 boxes containing books, toiletries, dvds, and girl scout cookies. Read the article in the Reflector here.
• 8/11, Kinston: Jerry had a breakfast meeting with about 20 local party leaders from Lenoir and surrounding counties. They discussed ways the State Party can help local parties achieve their goals.
• 8/11, Windsor: We met Bertie County Chair Penny Thompson and County Commissioner L.C. Hoggard at the Heritage House Restaurant in Windsor. They then took us out canvassing, which was a blast. Thompson and Hoggard both know every single resident by face and name, and many residents greeted Thompson with a hug rather than a handshake. The canvassing went so quickly that we exhausted the doors, so Melissa Price and Teen Democrats President Jennifer Wadsworth
  started flagging down cars in order to register the drivers to vote.
• 8/11, Conway: Without planning to, we were honored to meet the widow of the Representative Howard J. Hunter who passed in January. We got slightly delayed when we helped a man register to vote and he took the initiative to call up friends from the next town over so that they could register as well.
• 8/11, Ahoskie: Jerry met with party leaders from a number of counties at Catherine's Restaurant. A number of leaders expressed the importance of bringing young people into the party. Halifax chair Kathy Knight stayed late to have dinner with us.
• 8/12, Winfall: We went to the service at Melton Grove Baptist Church, where we were warmly received. The farm next door had a huge "NO OLF" sign on it.
• 8/12, Elizabeth City: We toured and weeded a community garden specifically designed for the disabled and those suffering from dementia. They had the garden beds elevated to make them wheelchair accessible. We then took grass shoots from the garden and planted them at a Habitat for Humanity project. The grass is a special species that requires little water and little mowing, ensuring that the new home owners will have a hassle free and environmentally friendly yard.

A bill to establish a government-backed insurance pool for people with illnesses who cannot afford or do not qualify for private insurance won final legislative approval Thursday. Thirty-four states already offer such insurance plans. The insurance won’t be free. Subscribers will pay 65 percent of the cost through their premiums. Premiums will be set at 150 percent to 200 percent of what a healthy person would pay for private insurance. Establishing a high-risk insurance pool was a priority for Democratic lawmakers this year, but questions about how to pay complicated the debate.

In May, the House decided to put an assessment on private health insurance policies, but key senators did not like that idea. The Senate floated several proposals before deciding to take revenue from an existing tax on health insurance premiums. In addition, the state employee health plan will pay about $700,000 a year into the pool, the equivalent of $1.50 for each person who has state government insurance. The Health and Wellness Trust Fund, which handles some of the money that comes from the state’s share of the 1998 national tobacco settlement, will provide $5 million in the first year. The Senate approved the insurance plan Wednesday. The premium tax is expected to provide $14.3 million to the insurance program next year.