"Former UNC dean of students says she was forced to underreport sexual assault cases."

"The complaint alleges [Melinda] Manning was told by the University Counsel’s office that the number of sexual assault cases she compiled for 2010 was 'too high' before the total was decreased by three cases without her knowledge...."

"In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina"... to vote for Barack Obama.

"Carolina in My Mind" is one of my all-time favorite songs. Here are the lyrics, in case the parody gods inspire you. Can't you just feel the moonshine... the pot... and a little blow?

Dark and silent late last night
I think I might have heard the highway calling
Geese in flight and dogs that bite
Signs that might be omens say I'm going, going

I think I might have heard the highway calling....

Politico identifies "5 landmines" for the Democratic convention.

#1 is: Bill Clinton. 

I'd say Obama should not trust Bill Clinton. Hillary has too much to gain from an Obama loss.

The other 4 are:

2. "Rebuilding 'You didn’t build that.'" (Especially with Elizabeth Warren as a prime-time speaker. She's "a political novice who will be making her debut on the national stage," and whose personal goal is winning in Massachusetts, and thus in being much more liberal than the average American.)

3. "Actual class warfare." (The Occupy protesters, who might have once seemed to be boosting the Democratic Party, are taking it to the streets of Charlotte. What if there's something 1968-ish?! And then there's just the danger of various convention-goers saying something non-mainstream.)

4. "Not a sell-out audience." (And with extra tickets being given away, there's an unusual danger of hecklers and protesters.)

5. "Can Charlotte cut it?" It's pretty small and ill-equipped for a city hosting an event this size.

We need to talk about Keith Judd.

He's the prisoner who won 41% of the vote in the West Virginia Democratic primary.

ADDED: "Why felon Keith Judd did so well against Obama in West Virginia."

The president angered voters with new Environmental Protection Agency policies, which some see as a “war on coal” and have stalled mining permits for the state’s coal mining industry...

Race likely plays some role here. In the 2008 primary, 2 in 10 white West Virginia voters said race was an important factor in their votes, second only to Mississippi. Those voters went for Clinton 8 in 10 times....

Potentially more interesting are the results from North Carolina, where 20 percent of Democratic primary voters chose “no preference” over the president.

"Charlotte charred by FLOTUS roast reference."

Okay, now there's a headline. I'm choosing to blog it before even reading the article. Sounds like something terrible and First-Lady-related is going on in the southern city. But what? Let's see. It seems the city of Charlotte, North Carolina was chosen as the site for the 2012 Democratic convention. Check. Michelle Obama sent out an email listing some nice things about Charlotte: "southern charm, hospitality, diversity — 'And of course, great barbecue.'"

But it turns out the great North Carolina barbecue isn't actually in the city of Charlotte.

A local Associated Press reporter quoted a barbecue expert, retired University of North Carolina professor John Shelton Reed, who said that Charlotte for barbecue was "like Minneapolis for gumbo."

The gaffe was enough to make you wonder whether the White House had simply cut and pasted Southern clichés to create the first lady's announcement.

Well, you can un-paste the one about "southern charm."

It's the President and the First Lady vacationing in Asheville and eating at 12 Bones.

That's what we did last year. Look at the photograph.

***

See the big red sign in the background in that photograph? Here's my picture from the same room:



The guys are RLC and Meade (my 2 husbands).

(And here's my old blog post about 12 Bones. We need to do a summer drive that takes us back down that way again. I'd like to spend a few days in Asheville and eat every meal at 12 Bones.)

12 Bones.

That picture in the last post was taken at my favorite Asheville restaurant 12 Bones. Go there! You can place your order for ribs — maybe blueberry and chipotle — with 2 sides — maybe collard greens and mashed sweet potatoes — and cornbread:



Take your number and fill your giant cup with iced tea, then find a table. It's especially nice outside, at the picnic tables under a steel roof:



And here's James again, with his brother Michael Sasso, who both said they'd love to see their pictures on my blog:

Cloudscape.

In the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Boys conquer Craggy Pinnacle.

For fans of RLC's blog, these are Agents 95 and 97. We're here in Asheville, North Carolina, at a unique family reunion. For example, here are RLC and Meade, together at 12 Bones:



So there you have it: a picture of my husbands, former and future.

Althouse on Craggy Pinnacle.

A bit of a Penniston Crag effect, perhaps? When I saw this picture, taken yesterday, I said, "What am I doing with my hand?" Which was a silly question, but because of the angle, you can't see the camera in my hand. So, of course, I have many photos from Craggy Pinnacle, but these will need to wait until later.

Is it going to be boring tonight?

Mark Halperin tells you what they're going to tell you:

1. “She did what she had to do.”
2. “She didn’t do what she had to do.”
3. “John McCain is the big winner tonight.”
4. “No matter what, Clinton can’t overtake Obama’s lead in elected delegates.”
5. “There is no way the Democratic Party is going to take the nomination away from an African-American who is the winner of the elected delegate race.”
6. “It was the fight over the gas tax that did it.”
7. “This leaves us right where we were.”
8. “Look at how he did with white, working-class voters in the exit poll.”
9. “People are going to start telling her she needs to get out of this race.”
10. “Once again, he missed a chance to put her away.”

There are 10 more, so go read it.

Are you going to sit there sinking into your sofa while Wolf and his people say the things on that list? Or are you going to be out in the world, perhaps listening to a brilliant artist and sneaking a look at your iPhone under the table now and then to catch the score?

Obama refuses to debate Clinton in North Carolina.

Marc Ambinder says it's because his advisors "did not want to give Hillary Clinton any excuse to stay in the race beyond Tuesday, assuming she doesn't fare that well." I don't like it. He just did badly in a debate, so it looks like he's afraid to debate. He should be bold and show us how good he is, show us what a strong candidate he'll be in the fall. Otherwise, Clinton, who just bested him in debate, has reason to claim she's the stronger candidate.

The Clinton campaign should milk this like mad. Here's their first parry:

It is unfortunate that Senator Obama has chosen to brush off the people of North Carolina by flatly refusing to debate....

Hillary Clinton is committed to debating the issues facing the Tar Heel State. We hope Sen. Obama will make the same commitment

Flatly refusing.

They must be furiously brainstorming: What's the most apt way to plant in people's minds that he's chicken, that he's weakening, tiring, and he doesn't want to give people a chance to see it?

Howard Kurtz says:

In political terms, Obama had little incentive for another face-off. He's comfortably ahead in the Tarheel State, and after drawing most of the tough questions in last week's ABC debate in Pennsylvania, he undoubtedly wasn't looking forward to a sequel.

(Is it Tar Heel or Tarheel? It's Tar Heel.)

I disagree with Kurtz. 1. Even if Obama is ahead, he should try to defeat Clinton as impressively as possible. 2. His poor performance is the reason to come back with a solid performance. 3. It's not just about North Carolina; it's about proving to all of us and to the superdelegates that he's the better candidate. 4. He's handed her a fat, juicy issue, and she'll take advantage of it (which in itself will be a demonstration of her fighting strength as a candidate).

And speaking of weakness and evasiveness, the Obama quote of the day is "Why can't I just eat my waffle?"