Friday Morning Live

These words are recorded in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. We must hold this declaration before us all as a standard and a commitment. 

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” 

Practical principals for personal empowerment:
1. Personal responsibility. “I am responsible for my life and my own choices!”

2. Hard Work. “Anything worth having is worth working diligently for!”

3. Character. “My character is the essence of my true self!”

4. Life of Excellence. “Whatever you put your hands to, give it your very best!”

5. Respect for others. “The respect we give is what we get back!”

6. Humility. “True greatness is found in genuine humility!”

7. Life management. “How we manage time, money, health, and relationships is vital.”

8. Learn a practical marketable skill. “Marketable skills can feed you for a lifetime.”

9. Marriage and not mating. “Marriage has a biblical blessing!” 

10. Connect with a Bible believing Church. “The wise seek accountability!”

11. Wise choices are a must. “The quality of our choices determines the quality of our life!” 

We read and hear about the income gap between people groups. What are some practical steps forward that will help everyone? 

1. Empower and elevate all, not just one ethnicity. When we all do better, the entire nation does better. 

2. Refuse to see yourself as a victim. Making no excuses. 

3. Return to skill labor professions. Encourage and incentivize skill labor certifications. Carpenters, welders, plumbers, heating & air, electrician, general contractors, nursing, and more. 

4. Make education a life-long commitment for your children and yourself. 

5. Empower your family with financial literacy. Economic quotient. 

6. Teach true American History, respect, and love for your nation. 

I believe it is. Then the question is, what needs to be done to elevate and restore the pillars of greatness within the black culture. What were those cultural attributes of greatness that sustained a people through slavery, Jim Crow, and the destructiveness of welfare? Here are several important perspectives that I believe are a must to continue the progress of a culture of people: 

1. Refuse to be a victim. Black is not a handicap. Refuse to use the race card.

2. Restore your spiritual roots and devotion within your family.

3. Break the blind allegiance to a failed political party. 

4. Pursue personal responsibility and character above entertainment and leisure. 

5. Guard what you give your attention to. (Music, sports, recreation)

6. Refuse to be manipulated with lies, propaganda, and misinformation. Search for the truth in a matter. READ!!!!

7. Restore the family! Incentivize marriage! Return to the family as a major priority!

8. Stop aborting the babies!!!!!

9. Focus less on blackness and more on personal responsibility, character, and personal growth. 

10.  Where there are isms change what you can, but refuse to be defined or limited by them. 

11.  Resolve conflicts peacefully. End the violence! 

12.  Commit to sexual purity. Fornication is sin! We must encourage purity through marriage. 

13.  Remember the Grace of God! We need His help. We must seek Him and His grace to restore the culture and the nation. 

America recognizes February as Black History Month. The nation is to take a moment and acknowledge those many Americans with Black heritage who have greatly contributed to the nation and world. 

Part of the intent behind the recognition of Black Americans in history is to educate, inform and encourage a culture and nation. Perhaps it is also to promote self-worth and Black pride. My hope and prayer is that it might also empower and elevate a people and a nation. 

It has been my commitment to encourage and elevate others no matter their ethnicity or gender. In such a racially charged period in American history, just how do we do that? I believe one undeniable way to do that is by communicating and demonstrating love, respect, and honor for all. It’s also imperative that we convey truth to our joined history and current ills troubling our nation and communities. We must love people enough to tell them the truth. I believe the Bible is the written Word and revealed Truth of God. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (St. John 8:32 NKJV). 

We together make up the race of man, with many ethnicities and people groups. We come from the three sons of Noah—Ham, Sham, and Japheth. The seven billion plus people in the earth today came from these three. One race, one family, one earthly father. After the flood of Noah, the people built the Tower of Babel. Their intent was not pleasing to God, so He confused their language and dispersed them over the earth. 

Again, we see humanity working an evil plan of self-destruction. This time it’s a plan to divide and conquer. It’s a plan of lies, misinformation, and deceit, yet cloaked in promises of justice, equality, and reparations. How do we ensure equality, justice, and access for all? How do we make right the wrongs of the past? How do we strengthen and encourage people to move forward? 

Racial Reparations Coming to California? (ConservativeInsider.org): “In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law forming a Reparations Task Force. This group of nine people has been traveling around the state trying to understand any negative impacts racist policies have had on Americans over the past few generations. Now, it seems the task force is revving up to announce some of the largest racial reparations ever seen before." Read more at https://conservativeinsider.org/racial-reparations-taskforce-calls-for-223k-each/?utm_source=iref&utm_placement=CInewsletter&utm_medium=email

$100 Billion in Slave Reparations To Be Funded by Taxpayers!?! (ReclaimingAmerica.net): “The city of San Francisco would have to pay at least $110 billion of taxpayer money to its longtime black residents if a recommendation by an advisory committee on slavery reparations is adopted, according to a report. The total sum of the “hefty reparations” in question is based on a conservative estimate after the committee published a draft report stating that San Francisco should pay $5 million in reparation to every one of its eligible black residents, The National Review reported. To be eligible to receive the sizable taxpayer-funded sum, making them multimillionaires, black city residents need to have identified as African American or black on public documents for no less than ten years.” Read more at https://reclaimingamerica.net/100-billion-in-slave-reparations-to-be-funded-by-taxpayers/

Remarks: Are reparations the real solution to the many ills troubling the Black community? How will reparations address the high percentages of abortions, Black on Black crime, the dismantled family, and spiritual and moral decline in the Black culture. This is not about elevating and empowering the Black community. This is far more about political postering and race baiting of the far left. It is also about affirming and embracing the Woke and Critical Race Theory ideology. This is not how we heal the wounds of a nation. It’s time to elevate all Americans, not just a select few.  (Dr. Leon Threatt) 

Rep. Jackson Lee Wants ‘Criticism of Non-White People’ Outlawed (TheLastPatriotNews.com): “In one of the more outrageous moves by an elected United States Representative, a Democrat congresswoman has initiated a House bill to criminalize criticism of people of color as a “conspiracy to commit white supremacy.” The author of the bill called H.R.61, “Leading Against White Supremacy Act of 2023,” is US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas. She introduced the legislation last Monday to the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill is supposed to “prevent and prosecute white supremacy inspired hate crime and conspiracy to commit white supremacy inspired hate crime.” The draft law defines claims that a person engages in a hate crime inspired by white supremacy “when white supremacy ideology has motivated the planning, development, preparation, or perpetration of actions that constituted a crime or were undertaken in furtherance of activity that, if effectuated, would have constituted a crime.” Per the bill’s logic, “conspiracy” to engage in white supremacy crimes includes publishing materials “advancing white supremacy, white supremacist ideology, antagonism based on ‘replacement theory,’ or hate speech that vilifies or is otherwise directed against any non-White person or group.” Read more at https://thelastpatriotnews.com/rep-jackson-lee-wants-criticism-of-non-white-people-outlawed/

Remarks: Has anyone in this leftist camp ever heard of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the First Amendment. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Under the U.S. Constitution, you have the right not to like someone, and the freedom to say it. (Dr. Leon Threatt)

If hate was wrong in the 1960s, then it’s wrong today! 

White Students Banned from University Art Club?!? (TheRedAlertNews.com): “An art club at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has excluded white students. This development has led other student organizations to adopt the same racial discrimination approach. The UNC Chapel Hill art club, which excludes white students because of their race, was started this academic year and is called “Earthtones,” The College Fix reported. “I think the idea of Earthtones is just to celebrate the brown people in our community and just pay homage to the beautiful color spectrum we create,” explained club member Eliyambuya Baker in an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, the campus newspaper. At the same time, a registration form for the “no whites allowed” art club claims that it is “free from tokenization, filtering, or exploitation.” “[The club is] an atmosphere that cultivates a community free from tokenization, filtering, or exploitation. We’re creating a living, breathing, network of artists of color to explore creative expression and learn from each other,” the Google sign-up form reads. The report pointed out that the Earthtones art club inspired other groups on the UNC Chapel Hill campus to exclude white students.” Read more at https://theredalertnews.com/white-students-banned-from-university-art-club/

Remarks: This racial bigotry was not the intent of the Civil Rights Movement. The fight then as it must be today is to ensure all citizens have equal access to all America has to offer. This venomous hatred pushed by today’s race baiters are no better than the Klu Klux Klan of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Hatred, discrimination, and bigotry is not confined to any one group of people. It’s a matter of the heart. Shame on you, NC Chapel Hill. (Dr. Leon Threatt)

Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ dismantled the hate, strife, and the divide that held humanity in bondage. He took that hostility and enmity and nailed it to His cross and reconciling those who would believe and receive Him to the Father and to each other. 

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Ephesians 2:14-16 NKJV). 

“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,” (Second Corinthians 5:16-18 NKJV). 

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28 NKJV). 

A dynamic leader, a passionate preacher, and a tremendous visionary, Dr. Mark E Harris serves as Vice President of Family Research Council, Association of Churches and Ministries, as well as Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Mooresville, NC. He previously served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Charlotte, NC from 2005 to 2017. A native of Winston-Salem. NC, Dr. Harris graduated from Appalachian State University in 1987 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Upon answering God’s call to ministry that same year, Dr. Harris enrolled at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC where he would earn both his Master of Divinity degree and his Doctor of Ministry degree in Christian Leadership. In 1989, he was called to his first pastorate at Center Grove Baptist Church in Clemmons, NC, where God blessed in remarkable ways with unprecedented growth, and relocation of the church campus. Answering God’s call in late 1999, Harris began as Senior Pastor of Curtis Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia on January 1, 2000. Again, God blessed with phenomenal growth and facility expansion as the church entered a time of planning, construction, and occupation of a $7.4 million Preschool and Children’s Building at the downtown church.

Mark was married to Elizabeth Bates Harris on June 20, 1987, having first met at the Baptist Student Union at ASU. Beth majored in Middle School Education, and currently teaches 8th Grade US History at Metrolina Christian Academy in Indian Trail, NC. They have three married children, Laura Harris Christian (Jordan), John Harris (Kerry Anne), and Matthew Harris (Mallory), and ten beautiful grandchildren.

As a gifted leader, Mark has served in many leadership roles in local associations, the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Along with serving on numerous committees and task forces, Harris served from 1999-2009 as a Trustee of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, serving as Chairman of Trustees from 2005-2007. He served as President of the NC Pastor’s Conference in 2008, on the Board of Directors of the Biblical Recorder from 2006-2010, and President of the North Carolina Baptist Convention from 2011-2013.

Working diligently to help lead the passage of the North Carolina Marriage Amendment in 2012, Mark was a founding member of the Vote for Marriage NC organization.  Sensing God’s call to take a more active role in the public policy arena, in 2014, Mark ran in the GOP Primary for US Senate finishing third, behind now US Senator Thom Tillis. Following a 2015 court order for redrawing of the Congressional Districts in NC, Mark entered the special congressional election in June of 2016 for the US House, District Nine, GOP Primary, finishing second by only 134 votes. After a year of much prayer and seeking God’s guidance, Mark and Beth, in July of 2017, sensed God’s call to announce at First Baptist, Charlotte the decision to step down as Senior Pastor in order to seek the US House of Representatives, NC-9 seat. After a primary victory in May of 2018, Mark went on to win the seat in November of 2018, and with all eight counties certified, Mark was the Congressman-Elect for NC-9. However, through a decision by the NC State Board of Elections, the race was never certified by the state board, and a new election was determined to be held. Due to an acute illness that Mark experienced in January of 2019, and two subsequent surgeries he would face in March and June, Mark and Beth decided he would not be a candidate in the Special Election.

In July of 2019, Tony Perkins and General Jerry Boykin of the Family Research Council in Washington, DC, asked Mark to serve as National Director of Community Impact as part of the FRC’s Bold Advance Initiative. Then, in April of 2021, he accepted the role as Vice President of FRC for the Association of Churches and Ministries, bringing together churches, across denominational lines, to stand united and unashamed for faith, family and freedom.

Bishop Larry Jackson serves as the regional Bishop for the Fellowship of International Churches (Bishop Wellington Boone, Founder and Prelate) in the southeastern region of the United States. Bishop is the founding Pastor of Bethel Outreach International Church. He is the founder and president of Frontliners Men’s Ministry designed to bring men to the front lines of what God is doing. He is also the founder and president of True Value of a Woman movement designed to help women understand their value to God and before men.

Bishop Jackson teaches the body of Christ the importance of functioning as priests and has led a 5 a.m. prayer call since 2008, where the participants pray for 12 lost souls daily.

Bishop Jackson is a nationally known Promise Keepers speaker and has also ministered across the nation and internationally as a keynote speaker in conferences conducted by Men At The Cross, and Iron Sharpens Iron, men’s ministries.

Bishop has spoken to the United States Armed Forces nationally as well as in Seoul, South Korea. He is currently a speaker with the national conferences held for men, Stand Courageous, conducted by the Family Research Council under the leadership of Tony Perkins.

City Outreach

Bishop works with leaders in Charlotte, NC, within a group named Flip the City to bring a spiritual awakening to the city. He also serves on a board connected to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department to give advice to law enforcement on matters connected with the city.

Bishop Jackson is a co-founder of the Black and Brown Coalition and spearheaded the 2016 inaugural Black and Brown Summit held in Charlotte, NC, where pastors and ministry leaders joined together to address issues facing society and the church within racial minority communities.

He is a speaker with the Frederick Douglass Foundation, the largest Christ-centered, multi- ethnic and conservative ministry in America. Bishop Jackson is also a speaker with Human Coalition a pro-life nonprofit organization committed to an audacious mission; to transform our culture of death into a culture of life — to end abortion in America.

Bishop Jackson had a pivotal role in establishing Unified 2000, a ministry that worked to break down the denominational and racial barriers that divide the body of Christ. This ministry started in Fayetteville, NC, in 1995 with the pastors and city leaders meeting regularly for prayer.

As a result of this prayer assault, Fayetteville and the surrounding communities experienced revolutionary changes, the most notable being a dramatic reduction in crime. Bishop Jackson has been able to continue this effort as he travels to key cities throughout the United States presenting to pastors a point-by-point strategy for reaching their cities.

Books and Products

Bishop Jackson is the author of several books, including Numbered with the Transgressors, a powerful book that will take you to new levels of intercessory prayer; Guilt Free Living, practical instruction on overcoming the spirit of lust in every area of life; Knowing God by the Numbers, where readers learn the secret of biblical numbers and how God is using them to speak to His church today; The Power Is In The Closet, a book that teach intercessors how to pray from the secret place and find success; The True Value of a Woman, a book and workbook designed to bring women to their valued place before God and man (this book is also available in French); First Comes Love, book and workbook designed to help unmarried people understand how to prepare for marriage; One Degree of Change, a book designed to help a person move from hot to boiling in their commitment and success; and Beyond Reconciliation, a book in which he and Pastor Michael Fletcher share important principles on how to establish covenant relationships with those from different cultural backgrounds. In August 2001, Bishop Jackson released his music CD, Hear Our Prayer, which is also the title song written while praying in Seoul Korea.

Bishop Larry Jackson is a man who is in passionate pursuit of the Father. His zeal, energy and fortitude speak of his wholehearted commitment to the Lord. Bishop Jackson and his wife, Joanndra have been married for 35 years, they are blessed with 5 daughters and 6 grandchildren and currently reside in Charlotte, NC.

God is merciful, longsuffering, and compassionate. Because of Him and His great love, I am hopeful. I love my nation and so want to see it return to the Lord who made it the most powerful nation in human history. 

• I love and treasure America not for its perfection, but for what Almighty God planned and purposed for it and through it. There was a time that it sent more missionaries to the nations than any other. It still feeds the nations. It has consistently been the most humanitarian nation. 
• America affords the highest standard of living to the greatest number of people than any nation in human history. 
• Only in America can one bring his or her talents, products, or ideas to the stage of life and become independently wealthy.
• The greatness of any nation is to be viewed not only where it is, but also by the progress it makes through the journey. America has made great progress towards liberty, freedom, and opportunity. It has often learned from its mistakes, and prayerfully we will continue to grow in wisdom and common sense.  

Will America recover? I don’t know. It does not appear to have the will, want, and desire to turn from a path of self-destruction.

• America was fashioned and founded upon the Truth of the God of Israel. The only one and true God. What happens if and when America forsakes Him? 
• Many of the founding leaders of America devoted themselves and this nation to the God of Bible! “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12 NKJV).
• William Brandford, signer of the Mayflower Compact, “Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith,” Mayflower Compact https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/mayflower-compact#section_7
• On April 30th, 1789, America had a Constitution and a newly formed government. On that day, the government, the House, and the Senate gathered for the Inauguration of our first president, George Washington. In his Inauguration Address, Washington gave a prophetic warning: “We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and the right which heaven itself has ordained.”  Click here to read more.

• What is in this new Marriage Law? 
• What implications will it have on the America family? 
• Respect for Marriage Act: “This act provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the act replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage between two individuals that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) The act also replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. (The Supreme Court held that state laws barring same-sex marriages were unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015; the Court held that state laws barring interracial marriages were unconstitutional in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.) The act allows the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations. The act does not (1) affect religious liberties or conscience protections that are available under the Constitution or federal law, (2) require religious organizations to provide goods or services to formally recognize or celebrate a marriage, (3) affect any benefits or rights that do not arise from a marriage, or (4) recognize under federal law any marriage between more than two individuals.” https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8404
• Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel: Same-Sex Marriage. Child Bride Marriages. No Religious Freedom. “This is what is at stake if HR 8404 passes the House. The Senate approved an amended version of HR 8404. The amendment claims to protect religious freedom but, in fact, does nothing to protect Christians and other faithful religious adherents. HR 8404 forces every state to accept, honor and obey the crazy “marriage” laws of any other state. Beyond same-sex marriage, HR 8404 empowers a state to force its marriage laws upon other states and territories. A handful of states like California have no minimum age for marriage, resulting in the terrible abuse often referred to as “child bride marriage.” These marriages are often forced upon young minors who were sexually abused or forced into such relationships.” https://lc.org/newsroom/details/221207-update-final-vote-on-hr-8404

We must repent!!!!!! Can there be lasting sustained national awakening without the Church? Can the Church experience genuine spiritual renewal, revival, restoration without brokenness and desperation? 

Our Gracious God has been warning and calling America back to Himself, yet we the nation and church continue to defy and disregard His warnings.

The religious Church has become complacent and compromising. There is a Remnant.

⁃ Prepare for what is before us.

⁃ Share the hope we have in Christ Jesus.

⁃ The Lord is so merciful, long suffering and compassionate. He finds no delight in the death of the wicked. 

⁃ I believe 2023 is the Year of the Warrior. “Therefor I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses’” (Nehemiah 4:13,14 NKJV). 

Deaths and Injuries Continue: According to the CDC website,  “Reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination are rare. FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if it’s unclear whether the vaccine was the cause. Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem. More than 657 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through December 7, 2022. During this time, VAERS received 17,868 preliminary reports of death (0.0027%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. CDC and FDA clinicians review reports of death to VAERS including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records.” https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/vaers/index.html 

 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Takes Action To Prosecute COVID-Vaccine Makers?!? (TheRedAlertNews.com): In a stunning development, Florida’s popular GOP Governor, Ron DeSantis, just announced that he wants a grand jury to investigate the manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines with an eye toward bringing prosecutions to those the grand jury finds in the wrong legally. According to National Review in “DeSantis Announces Grand-Jury Probe into Alleged’ Wrongdoing’ by Covid-Vaccine Makers”: “Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday his intention to empanel a grand jury to investigate “any and all wrongdoing” involving Covid-19 vaccines in the state. “DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate, made the announcement during a roundtable discussion about vaccine accountability that he held with Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who has previously expressed concerns about the safety of Covid mRNA vaccines and boosters. The roundtable was attended by medical and health specialists who raised similar concerns about the safety of the vaccines.”What does DeSantis want of the grand jury? “DeSantis said he intends to petition the Supreme Court of Florida to empanel the grand jury, likely in the Tampa Bay area. DeSantis did not specify what “wrongdoing” the grand jury would investigate, but he said the grand jury would come with legal processes to obtain information from vaccine manufacturers and “those who committed misconduct.” https://theredalertnews.com/alert-desantis-takes-action-to-prosecute-covid-vaccine-makers/ 

• North Carolina has become one of deaths desired destinations. According to Planned Parenthood, Abortion across the state has dramatically increased since the dismantling of Roe V. Wade. According to the Love Life Team in Charlotte, North Carolina, abortions on Latrobe Drive have gone from about 200 abortions a week to over 400 abortions a week. A number of states have passed legislation to restrict or limit abortion, yet North Carolina has done very little to protect the innocent pre-born.
• Tami Fitzgerald of NC Values of North Carolina stated: “‘What North Carolina needs to do is pass some legislation that will stop that and will actually save the lives of unborn babies, who are humans and deserve human rights,’ said Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, a conservative and Christian pro-life advocacy organization.
• Fitzgerald was decrying a recent report that indicate women who live in more restrictive states are coming to North Carolina for abortions, which allows the procedure up to the 20th week of pregnancy. ‘I believe the right limit is when you can detect a heartbeat,’ Fitzgerald said.” Read more: https://www.whqr.org/2022-12-14/north-carolina-legislature-session-january-emboldened-gop-republicans