WataugaWatch
wataugawatch.bsky.social
WataugaWatch
@wataugawatch.bsky.social
Citizen journalist with a mean streak for progressive causes. Was the founding editor of the Appalachian Journal in 1972, retired 2000. Began WataugaWatch blog in 2003. Covers NC politics, with microscopic fascination for Watauga County.
It's unfortunate that the world has progressed but you haven't.
Tuberville: "Unfortunately we've got the Woke Bowl, because we're getting more and more woke. We got Bad Bunny or Bad Rabbit at halftime. I'll be watching the TPUSA halftime show. It's just unfortunate we've gotten to this point."
January 29, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Pay attention to Kyah Creekmore, who wants to replace Virginia Foxx in Congress.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/kyah...
Kyah Creekmore Wants To Beat Virginia Foxx. I Want To Help Him
I stumbled across the candidacy of Kyah Creekmore, the 24-year-old former Target re-stocker who wants to replace Virginia Foxx in the US H...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 29, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Way to go, Bruce!
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 8:51 PM
NC college students sue for restoration of campus polling sites at NC A&T, UNC-G, and Western Carolina
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/stud...
Students Sue for Restoration of Campus Polling Sites
Democracy Docket : A group of North Carolina students sued Republican state officials Tuesday to restore early voting sites on three colle...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 28, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Talarico turns John Cornyn warning into a rallying cry.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/tala...
Talarico, Shaking Things in Texas
I've written about Texan James Talarico, the young Christian progressive running as a Democrat in the primary for US Senate, the John Cor...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 21, 2026 at 3:50 PM
It’s important to remember that Trump doesn’t do anything without calculating how he’ll profit personally. Tell me he isn’t wetting his beak through this Bd of Fucking Peace
The charter for President Trump's “Board of Peace” would establish him as its chairman and asks countries to pay more than $1 billion for permanent membership. Critics reacted furiously, saying it could undermine the United Nations. Here's what to know. nyti.ms/4pNJjXw
Gaza’s Board of Peace: What to Know
Numerous countries say they have been invited to join President Trump’s newly minted organization, which critics say could undermine the United Nations.
nyti.ms
January 20, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Unprecedented and indefensible.
Excessive force by officers is not new. What is novel for the United States is the use of federal power afterward to stifle investigation and shield wrongdoing.

That path is unprecedented and indefensible. trib.al/G3Jt6TQ
DOJ Resignations Over the Renee Good Shooting Confirm Our Worst Fears
Justice officials are obviously trying to insulate Jonathan Ross from accountability. And four senior career people couldn’t take it anymore.
trib.al
January 19, 2026 at 6:53 PM
No, it’s about retribution
Pew Research Institute (2023):

• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants

• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants

• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.

And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."

It's *not* about immigration.
January 19, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Keeping tabs on brand-new Congressman Pat Harrigan from Hickory and his "anti-urban populism." Worth a read.
newbranchhead.substack.com/p/pat-harrig...
Pat Harrigan baits the white working class to vote against its self-interest
He's a Populist without an economic agenda
newbranchhead.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 5:39 PM
I'm just getting to know Kyah Creekmore, who's in a Dems primary for Virginia Foxx's seat in Congress.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/the-...
The Democratic Primary in Congressional Dist. 5
It both hurts my heart and thrills me a little to see bright young people without a political base nor financial backing file to run for h...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 11, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Nuff said.
January 10, 2026 at 7:23 PM
That's the attitude exactly!
“If I don’t get the NobelPeace Prize, I swear to God, I’ll destroy the universe.”

Guy Venables
@guyvenables.bsky.social
January 10, 2026 at 7:21 PM
A Dem primary will settle the matter in NCHouse Dist. 106. Goodbye, Carla Cunningham?
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/carl...
Carla Cunningham May Be in (More) Trouble
House District 106 is majority Black. Carla Cunningham has represented the district in the NC House since the election of 2012. She's ofte...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 7, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Smoky Mountain News takes a sledgehammer to fast-food king and Congressman Chuck Edwards
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/this...
This Fast-Food King Serves Only Nothingburgers to Western North Carolina
Congressman Chuck Edwards This unsigned editorial in the Smoky Mountain News pretty much blew me away, so I'm copying the whole thing her...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 5, 2026 at 4:45 PM
A veritable pile-up of party primaries in NC House Dist. 32.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/dual...
Dual Party Primaries in Knotty House District 32
Part of a series examining the North Carolina Educators on the Ballot (NCEOB) who are progressives running as Republicans to primary other...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 4, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Democratic prospects for flipping NCSenate 34 depends on whether the tarnished R incumbent wins his primary in March.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2026/01/repu...
Republican Sen. Chris Measmer's Hefty Baggage
My last two entries (below) were prompted by the contents of a letter Sen. Amy Galey of Alamance County, a Majority Republican Whip in the N...
blog.wataugawatch.net
January 1, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Republican Michael Lee in NCSenate 7 is looking mighty safe. More's the pity.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2025/12/mich...
Michael Lee Is No. 2 on Republican Vulnerable List?
My last entry  (below) was prompted by the contents of a letter Sen. Amy Galey of Alamance County, a Majority Republican Whip in the NC Se...
blog.wataugawatch.net
December 31, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Republican incumbent Lisa Stone Barnes is prime target for Dems who intend to end Republican hegemony in the NC Senate.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2025/12/targ...
Target One for Ending the Republican Super-Majority in the NC Senate
Weeks ago the Democratic Minority Leader in the NC Senate, Sydney Batch, identified Lisa Stone Barnes in Senate Dist. 11 (Nash, Franklin, ...
blog.wataugawatch.net
December 30, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Legendarily self-destructive Ms. Morrow intends to crash Michael Whatley's coronation.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2025/12/mich...
Michele Morrow Jumps Into an Already Crowded Scrum of Republicans Looking To Lose Big to Roy Cooper
The big political news yesterday was Michele Morrow's filing to run for Thom Tillis's Senate seat in next March's Republican primary, thus...
blog.wataugawatch.net
December 19, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Republicans in North Carolina grandstanding against words words WORDS!
blog.wataugawatch.net/2025/12/year...
Year of the Bullies
The grandstanding Brendan Jones On Wednesday, Dec. 10th, NC House Majority Leader Brenden Jones threw a viral-video tantrum on the Chapel Hi...
blog.wataugawatch.net
December 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
There need to be lawsuits over elimination of polling sites at WCU, UNC-G, and NC A&T.
blog.wataugawatch.net/2025/12/sue-...
Sue Their Sorry Asses!
The new Republican majority on the Jackson Co. Board of Elections voted 3-2 to eliminate an early-voting site on the campus of Western Car...
blog.wataugawatch.net
December 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM