I don’t put much stock in top ten lists because they are generally subjective in nature. Even lists that are compiled from public polling can be skewed based on which public was polled. On the other hand, lists can serve as conversation starters, and anything that encourages constructive dialogue can’t be all bad. My list is based on one simple criterion: select issues or news stories which had a significant impact on our state. Disagree if you will, but here is my top ten list for 2017.
10. Gerrymandering and Voting Reforms
In 2015 the Courts ruled that racial gerrymandering existed in over two dozen of our legislative districts, and ordered that we re-draw them for the 5 millionth time. But a three-judge panel wasn’t satisfied with the GOP legislature’s latest effort, so it appointed a “special master” to adjust four districts, including two in Guilford County. As of this writing we still don’t know which version will stand, but what we do know is that candidates must file for office by February 28, or else the 2018 elections could be in jeopardy. No matter how this mess gets resolved, we’ll still be left with similar problems to sort out in at least two of our Congressional districts. Lo, the gerrymanderers will always be with us.
9. Town Hall Meetings Get a Black Eye
Thanks to the influences of reality TV, a president who bullies people, and a Congress that thrives on vitriol, an increasing number of folks who show up at public meetings, have become loud, rude, and, in some cases, threatening to the elected officials hosting the event. Things have gotten so bad that the RNC hired a consultant to advise Congressmen on how to protect themselves at town hall meetings. Meanwhile a number of Congressmen and Senators say they will only hold town halls if they can participate electronically, while others say they have stopped hosting public meetings altogether. Senator Richard Burr is one of those who no longer wants to face his constituents in person, while Rep. Mark Walker says he will continue to press the flesh so long as those who disagree with him let him get a word in edge wise. Whether on TV talk shows or at a local meeting, people don’t seem to discuss anymore, they just seem to yell and interrupt. Shouting matches may be good for building viewership, but not for building common ground.
8. Boy Scouts vs Girl Scouts
Boy Scouts of America can’t seem to catch a break. A couple of years ago it was revealed that BSA had been keeping documents from the public that detailed decades worth of sexual abuse by adult scout leaders. Then BSA made news by embracing openly gay scout leaders and transgender youth. And earlier this year, BSA announced it would start accepting girls into its ranks, effectively launching a gender recruitment war with the Girl Scouts. It’s a desperate attempt by BSA to bolster its membership rolls, but don’t look for a run on unisex badges because this idea has no merit.
7. The President’s Brain is Missing
Trump’s critics have always contended that he is unstable, but this year, two dozen, non-partisan mental health professionals published a collection of studies which concluded that the President suffers from a number of clinical and emotional disorders. Adding to the chorus is a noted neurologist who recently concluded that Mr. Trump has a brain disorder, and in December, at least two high profile newspaper editorial boards wrote that the President is mentally ill and should resign. All of these conclusions are based upon Trumps own words, tweets, and actions which continue to alienate our allies and divide our nation. Meanwhile, the President is fending off charges of sexual misconduct from no less than twenty women, and it’s still possible that the Special Counsel will indict him for obstruction of justice in the Russia probe. Trump should do the right thing and resign, but he won’t, and so long as Republicans control Congress, impeachment for any reason is unlikely. That’s why the least painful alternative would be for his Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office due to incapacitation. Trump biographer Tony Schwartz recently told CNN that the President acts like a nine-year-old child. If that’s the case, then let’s get him out of the White House, and give him a chance to grow up in his own house.
6. The Aftermath of HB2
The transgender bathroom controversy of 2016 was created by former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, the ill-named Human Rights Campaign, and Attorney General Roy Cooper, for the dual purpose of putting Governor Pat McCrory between a rock and a hard place over a problem that never really existed, and putting Cooper in the Governor’s Mansion. Still it was McCrory who made numerous attempts to prevent, then kill, his party’s HB2 law, yet he was the one who got blamed for a bad bill that he had nothing to do with. That irony cost him re-election. Meanwhile, thanks to an investigative report by WBTV, we now know that last Summer, then Attorney General Cooper pressured Democrat lawmakers not to cooperate on a compromise until after the election. His strategy worked, and Cooper eked out a narrow victory over McCrory. But early on in 2017, the LGBT community realized Cooper had been disingenuous in his opposition to HB2, and his subsequent HB142 was merely a cosmetic attempt to placate transgender activists, and convince organizations like the ACC and NCAA to call off their boycott of our state. The truth is there was never going to be any bathroom police and industry prospects knew it, which is why North Carolina continued to thrive and be recognized as America’s most business-friendly state.
5. The Opioid Epidemic
Studies show that opioid-related deaths are on the rise in the Triad. From 2005 to 2015, opioid overdose deaths went from 13 to 53 in Forsyth County, and from 27 to 47 in Guilford. As a result, community leaders and legislators are pushing for stricter laws dealing with the sale and distribution of prescription pain killers. In fact, Governor Cooper’s HB 243 puts severe restrictions on physicians who prescribe opioids, and it will even limit public supply of those drugs. Meanwhile, the NC Hospital Association is urging emergency departments to start using non-opioids to treat pain. The problem is that some of these well-meaning reformers are failing to make a distinction between various types of drugs and the abuses that are occurring. They will never stop addicts from shooting up heroin, so the easy solution is to make it more difficult for honest people to obtain much needed pain medicine. We already have laws on the books to deal with unscrupulous doctors and drug dealers, but we can’t save everyone who accidentally or deliberately overdoses on a legitimate medication. Drug abuse is a problem, but we won’t solve it by over reacting and penalizing people who need pain meds and who use them as directed.
4. Vegas Massacre and Gun Reforms
We’ve been fortunate here in the Triad to escape the horrors of a mass shooting such as the one that took place in Las Vegas, during an outdoor concert in October. Nevertheless, we are all susceptible to those kinds of incidents because neither federal or state legislators have seen fit to ban assault weapons. Common sense tells us that such a ban would have been enacted following Sandy Hook where 20 small children were massacred. It wasn’t. Nor did Congress take action after the Orlando nightclub massacre which claimed the lives of 49 people. So don’t hold your breath that any substantive gun reforms will result from the Vegas massacre which left 58 people dead and 500 wounded. The question is why won’t Congress protect us from assault weapons? The answer is money. The NRA and other pro-gun PACS donate millions of dollars to Congressmen, including our own Senator Richard Burr who has accepted $7 million dollars from the NRA alone. And so, the men we elected to protect OUR interests are instead protecting special interests. It wouldn’t kill these politicians to do the right thing, but it might kill the rest of us if they don’t.
3. Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault
When actress Ashley Judd blew the whistle on film producer Harvey Weinstein, she opened a Pandora’s box of sexual harassment and sexual assault charges by scores of women from all walks of life, and started a national discussion about what kind of behavior is and is not acceptable in the workplace. There are no precise statistics which show how pervasive workplace offenses are in the Triad, but thanks to Judd, the news media, and a growing number of female Congresspersons who are demanding reforms and resignations, we can rest assure that male employers in our area who are given to inappropriate touching, are now on notice to clean up their act.
2. The Racial Justice Movement
Despite electing our first African-American president in 2008, we have seen a rise in racism and openly racist behavior over the past ten years. Memberships in the KKK and other hate groups have increased, far-right politicians have ramped up their exclusionary rhetoric, and a handful of rogue policemen have used unnecessary force on minority suspects. And while some people have marched for racial justice, others, like a group in Charlottesville, marched to promote white supremacy. That event sparked a heated national debate about Confederate monuments. There was also a continuing debate about athletes and the national anthem. In 2016, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the anthem, but once he was cut from the 49ers, the momentum for his protest lost steam. Then, earlier this year President Trump reignited the controversy when he tweeted derogatory remarks aimed at the few players who were still kneeling during the National Anthem. That prompted a majority of NFL players to kneel in solidarity. Trump then tried to make the protests all about disrespecting the flag and the military, and, to no one’s surprise, neither he nor Congress have taken action to promote racial unity, or tried to prevent racially motivated police violence.
1. The Healthcare Debacle
Republicans in Congress opposed Obama’s Affordable Care Act when it was proposed, and they have pledged to repeal it ever since. But guess what? After the GOP took control of Congress and the White House in January of 2017, they still couldn’t make good on their long-suffering promise to “Repeal and Replace” Obamacare (although thanks to the new tax bill, Obama’s insurance mandate will fall by the wayside). So why the failed attempts at reform? Probably because every Republican proposal was significantly flawed. For example, Paul Ryan’s 142 page “Better Care Reconciliation Act” (BCRA) would have allowed insurance companies to charge older persons (ages 50 to 64) FIVE times the monthly premium as that of younger people. Thus a 49-year-old healthy male might pay $500 per month for insurance, but a 50-year-old man might pay $2,500 for the exact same policy. To date, we are still without clearly defined healthcare reforms, and still subject to the normally obscene increases in monthly premiums. Things could be worse, but I don’t know how. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” plan is looking mighty good now.
December 26, 2017 @ 4:56 am
Top Ten Stories of 2017
I don’t put much stock in top ten lists because they are generally subjective in nature. Even lists that are compiled from public polling can be skewed based on which public was polled. On the other hand, lists can serve as conversation starters, and anything that encourages constructive dialogue can’t be all bad. My list is based on one simple criterion: select issues or news stories which had a significant impact on our state. Disagree if you will, but here is my top ten list for 2017.
10. Gerrymandering and Voting Reforms
In 2015 the Courts ruled that racial gerrymandering existed in over two dozen of our legislative districts, and ordered that we re-draw them for the 5 millionth time. But a three-judge panel wasn’t satisfied with the GOP legislature’s latest effort, so it appointed a “special master” to adjust four districts, including two in Guilford County. As of this writing we still don’t know which version will stand, but what we do know is that candidates must file for office by February 28, or else the 2018 elections could be in jeopardy. No matter how this mess gets resolved, we’ll still be left with similar problems to sort out in at least two of our Congressional districts. Lo, the gerrymanderers will always be with us.
9. Town Hall Meetings Get a Black Eye
Thanks to the influences of reality TV, a president who bullies people, and a Congress that thrives on vitriol, an increasing number of folks who show up at public meetings, have become loud, rude, and, in some cases, threatening to the elected officials hosting the event. Things have gotten so bad that the RNC hired a consultant to advise Congressmen on how to protect themselves at town hall meetings. Meanwhile a number of Congressmen and Senators say they will only hold town halls if they can participate electronically, while others say they have stopped hosting public meetings altogether. Senator Richard Burr is one of those who no longer wants to face his constituents in person, while Rep. Mark Walker says he will continue to press the flesh so long as those who disagree with him let him get a word in edge wise. Whether on TV talk shows or at a local meeting, people don’t seem to discuss anymore, they just seem to yell and interrupt. Shouting matches may be good for building viewership, but not for building common ground.
8. Boy Scouts vs Girl Scouts
Boy Scouts of America can’t seem to catch a break. A couple of years ago it was revealed that BSA had been keeping documents from the public that detailed decades worth of sexual abuse by adult scout leaders. Then BSA made news by embracing openly gay scout leaders and transgender youth. And earlier this year, BSA announced it would start accepting girls into its ranks, effectively launching a gender recruitment war with the Girl Scouts. It’s a desperate attempt by BSA to bolster its membership rolls, but don’t look for a run on unisex badges because this idea has no merit.
7. The President’s Brain is Missing
Trump’s critics have always contended that he is unstable, but this year, two dozen, non-partisan mental health professionals published a collection of studies which concluded that the President suffers from a number of clinical and emotional disorders. Adding to the chorus is a noted neurologist who recently concluded that Mr. Trump has a brain disorder, and in December, at least two high profile newspaper editorial boards wrote that the President is mentally ill and should resign. All of these conclusions are based upon Trumps own words, tweets, and actions which continue to alienate our allies and divide our nation. Meanwhile, the President is fending off charges of sexual misconduct from no less than twenty women, and it’s still possible that the Special Counsel will indict him for obstruction of justice in the Russia probe. Trump should do the right thing and resign, but he won’t, and so long as Republicans control Congress, impeachment for any reason is unlikely. That’s why the least painful alternative would be for his Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office due to incapacitation. Trump biographer Tony Schwartz recently told CNN that the President acts like a nine-year-old child. If that’s the case, then let’s get him out of the White House, and give him a chance to grow up in his own house.
6. The Aftermath of HB2
The transgender bathroom controversy of 2016 was created by former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, the ill-named Human Rights Campaign, and Attorney General Roy Cooper, for the dual purpose of putting Governor Pat McCrory between a rock and a hard place over a problem that never really existed, and putting Cooper in the Governor’s Mansion. Still it was McCrory who made numerous attempts to prevent, then kill, his party’s HB2 law, yet he was the one who got blamed for a bad bill that he had nothing to do with. That irony cost him re-election. Meanwhile, thanks to an investigative report by WBTV, we now know that last Summer, then Attorney General Cooper pressured Democrat lawmakers not to cooperate on a compromise until after the election. His strategy worked, and Cooper eked out a narrow victory over McCrory. But early on in 2017, the LGBT community realized Cooper had been disingenuous in his opposition to HB2, and his subsequent HB142 was merely a cosmetic attempt to placate transgender activists, and convince organizations like the ACC and NCAA to call off their boycott of our state. The truth is there was never going to be any bathroom police and industry prospects knew it, which is why North Carolina continued to thrive and be recognized as America’s most business-friendly state.
5. The Opioid Epidemic
Studies show that opioid-related deaths are on the rise in the Triad. From 2005 to 2015, opioid overdose deaths went from 13 to 53 in Forsyth County, and from 27 to 47 in Guilford. As a result, community leaders and legislators are pushing for stricter laws dealing with the sale and distribution of prescription pain killers. In fact, Governor Cooper’s HB 243 puts severe restrictions on physicians who prescribe opioids, and it will even limit public supply of those drugs. Meanwhile, the NC Hospital Association is urging emergency departments to start using non-opioids to treat pain. The problem is that some of these well-meaning reformers are failing to make a distinction between various types of drugs and the abuses that are occurring. They will never stop addicts from shooting up heroin, so the easy solution is to make it more difficult for honest people to obtain much needed pain medicine. We already have laws on the books to deal with unscrupulous doctors and drug dealers, but we can’t save everyone who accidentally or deliberately overdoses on a legitimate medication. Drug abuse is a problem, but we won’t solve it by over reacting and penalizing people who need pain meds and who use them as directed.
4. Vegas Massacre and Gun Reforms
We’ve been fortunate here in the Triad to escape the horrors of a mass shooting such as the one that took place in Las Vegas, during an outdoor concert in October. Nevertheless, we are all susceptible to those kinds of incidents because neither federal or state legislators have seen fit to ban assault weapons. Common sense tells us that such a ban would have been enacted following Sandy Hook where 20 small children were massacred. It wasn’t. Nor did Congress take action after the Orlando nightclub massacre which claimed the lives of 49 people. So don’t hold your breath that any substantive gun reforms will result from the Vegas massacre which left 58 people dead and 500 wounded. The question is why won’t Congress protect us from assault weapons? The answer is money. The NRA and other pro-gun PACS donate millions of dollars to Congressmen, including our own Senator Richard Burr who has accepted $7 million dollars from the NRA alone. And so, the men we elected to protect OUR interests are instead protecting special interests. It wouldn’t kill these politicians to do the right thing, but it might kill the rest of us if they don’t.
3. Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault
When actress Ashley Judd blew the whistle on film producer Harvey Weinstein, she opened a Pandora’s box of sexual harassment and sexual assault charges by scores of women from all walks of life, and started a national discussion about what kind of behavior is and is not acceptable in the workplace. There are no precise statistics which show how pervasive workplace offenses are in the Triad, but thanks to Judd, the news media, and a growing number of female Congresspersons who are demanding reforms and resignations, we can rest assure that male employers in our area who are given to inappropriate touching, are now on notice to clean up their act.
2. The Racial Justice Movement
Despite electing our first African-American president in 2008, we have seen a rise in racism and openly racist behavior over the past ten years. Memberships in the KKK and other hate groups have increased, far-right politicians have ramped up their exclusionary rhetoric, and a handful of rogue policemen have used unnecessary force on minority suspects. And while some people have marched for racial justice, others, like a group in Charlottesville, marched to promote white supremacy. That event sparked a heated national debate about Confederate monuments. There was also a continuing debate about athletes and the national anthem. In 2016, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the anthem, but once he was cut from the 49ers, the momentum for his protest lost steam. Then, earlier this year President Trump reignited the controversy when he tweeted derogatory remarks aimed at the few players who were still kneeling during the National Anthem. That prompted a majority of NFL players to kneel in solidarity. Trump then tried to make the protests all about disrespecting the flag and the military, and, to no one’s surprise, neither he nor Congress have taken action to promote racial unity, or tried to prevent racially motivated police violence.
1. The Healthcare Debacle
Republicans in Congress opposed Obama’s Affordable Care Act when it was proposed, and they have pledged to repeal it ever since. But guess what? After the GOP took control of Congress and the White House in January of 2017, they still couldn’t make good on their long-suffering promise to “Repeal and Replace” Obamacare (although thanks to the new tax bill, Obama’s insurance mandate will fall by the wayside). So why the failed attempts at reform? Probably because every Republican proposal was significantly flawed. For example, Paul Ryan’s 142 page “Better Care Reconciliation Act” (BCRA) would have allowed insurance companies to charge older persons (ages 50 to 64) FIVE times the monthly premium as that of younger people. Thus a 49-year-old healthy male might pay $500 per month for insurance, but a 50-year-old man might pay $2,500 for the exact same policy. To date, we are still without clearly defined healthcare reforms, and still subject to the normally obscene increases in monthly premiums. Things could be worse, but I don’t know how. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” plan is looking mighty good now.