Triad Today

Since this week’s issue of Yes! Weekly is the annual Triad’s Best issue, Charles Womack, the publisher, asked me to add my two cents worth to the festivities. Here, in no particular order, are some of my picks for Triad’s Best, according to categories that often go overlooked:

Best Distillery: Old Nick Williams, where cousins Zeb and Matt Williams make Carolina Bourbon Whisley at the same farm in Lewisville as did their ancestor Joseph Williams back in 1768. The distillery was forced to shut down during Prohibition, but the Williams boys revived the operation several years ago. They have also preserved some interesting historic artifacts which are on display in the gift shop.

Best Garden: Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, located in historic downtown Kernersville, actually has 7 different gardens, including a tulip garden and a kitchen garden. Staff horticulturists conduct tours and offer planting tips year round. The garden has also become a popular site for weddings and receptions.

Best Sports Complex: Proehlific Park in Greensboro offers a wide variety of indoor athletic facilities in its 86,000 square foot complex, plus a number of outdoor sports in its 22-acre park. But it is also headquarters to Ricky and Kelly Proehl’s P.O.W.E.R. of Play Foundation which offers young people a structured environment for growing their minds and bodies. The Foundation will also soon start constructing the area’s first all-inclusive playground for kids of all ability levels.

Best Bakery: Winkler Bakery, the oldest continually operating bakery in America, has been baking cookies, bread and sugar cakes in Old Salem since George Washington’s day, and in the same oven. I dare you to try to make it home with a hot loaf of bread without sneaking a taste on the way. Bakery staff is dressed in authentic colonial garb, or at least I think that’s who I gave my credit card to.

Best Stretch of I-40: NONE. If you have to commute between Winston-Salem and Greensboro, it’s probably best if you charter an airplane. Speaking of which…

Best Directional Signage on the Way to PTI: NONE. It’s so confusing that I once ended up in Galax, which, by the way, doesn’t offer flights to Tampa.

Best Live Performance Theatre: High Point Theatre gets high marks for offering up a diverse selection of concerts and events, season after season. One week there’s a military band, the next, a country music singer or hip hop group. You might see TV and movie stars one night, and a local talent competition the next. Kudos to my friend Dave Briggs for booking something for everyone.

Best Movie Theatre: Although the Carolina Theatre in downtown Greensboro offers live concerts and lectures, it’s also the best place to see classic films come alive on a big screen for the first time in generations. Historic films like Frankenstein deserve to be shown in an historic theatre. It’s better than blu-ray.

Best Community Haunt: Woods of Terror is widely recognized as one of America’s best haunts, but owner Eddie McLaurin also offers seasonal events, like Easter egg hunts and a breath-taking Christmas light show. And, during the Halloween season, Eddie regularly offers up free thrills to special needs kids, while providing employment for hundreds of actors. All that from a guy with a giant boa constrictor wrapped around his neck.

Best Science Fair: This category goes to UNCG for its annual “Science Everywhere” event, where students and faculty get kids and parents excited about science. The event features campus-wide displays, demonstrations, and family activities.

Best Public Relations Agency: Pam Cook Communications. Why? Because Pam uses her TV news background to help non-profit organizations advance their mission of service to others. Also, because she’s my wife, and I had to mention her because I don’t feel safe at home.

One last thing. For the past 10 years I’ve tried to get our communist publisher to create a category for “Best Locally Produced Public Affairs Television Program”, but he refuses because he says that Triad Today would be the only entry, since it’s the only locally produced public affairs television program in the Triad. I think that’s a lame excuse, so I’m going to move to Galax and write for their paper.
 
 

At a recent meeting of the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School Board, a number of concerned parents rose to speak in favor of making African American history a mandatory course of study. Said Destiny Blackwell, “If we’re not teaching Black history, we are complicitly allowing it to disappear.” I agree with Ms. Blackwell’s assessment, however, the problem isn’t that Americans don’t know much about Black history – the problem is that we don’t know much about ANY history.

In February of this year, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (WWNFF) released the disturbing results of a new survey in which only 27% of folks under the age of 45 demonstrated a basic knowledge of American history. Of the 41,000 adults surveyed, only 15% knew what year our Constitution was written, and only 25% knew that free speech was protected by that great document. Said WWNFF President Arthur Levine, “Americans don’t possess the history knowledge they need to be informed and engaged citizens.” His conclusion comes as no surprise to those of us who have been tracking the problem for years.

In 2015, for example, Smithsonian.com’s Saba Naseem reported on a survey by Texas Tech University in which students were asked a series of basic history questions. Many respondents thought the South had won the Civil War, and hardly anyone knew who our vice president was. Naseem also re-hashed a 2014 study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which found that a mere 18% of 8^th graders “were proficient in US history.” Then there was the 2008 survey by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute which reported that only half of American adults could name the three branches of government. And if you really want to get depressed, then take a few moments to watch a video by PragerU.com, in which millennials were interviewed about their knowledge of American history. Asked who our 16^th president was, hardly any of the respondents knew it was Abraham Lincoln. This is particularly disturbing because they were interviewed in front of the Lincoln Memorial which they had just visited.

As a graduate of the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school system, I am saddened that today’s parents are even having to lobby for an expanded history curriculum. Granted we’re talking 60 years ago, but by the time I was in third grade, I could name the three branches of government and knew that honest Abe was our 16^th president. I knew about the educational and agricultural contributions of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, respectively. And though I couldn’t recite the purpose behind all of its amendments, I knew that the Constitution allowed me the freedom to speak my mind.

Last week, a group of parents spoke their minds, and I hope that their words will resonate well beyond Forsyth County. No, I don’t think we need a mandatory course on Black history, or White history, or Asian history. Those are classes that can be offered on the post-secondary level. What we need, though, is a more comprehensive and inclusive American history curriculum beginning in the primary grades, and continuing on into high school. We simply can’t afford to turn out another generation of uninformed citizens.
 
 

Last week Pat McCrory pulled up to an intersection in Charlotte, and politely stopped his car to let a man cross the street. The man looked at McCrory and started shouting that he recognized the former governor. The shouting then turned to cursing. Oh yes, and the man, who McCrory described as about 6’2” and built like a pro wrestler, was also carrying a tree limb with which he used to pound on the top of McCrory’s sedan. According to a police report, the man did about $600 worth of damage to McCrory’s car. Fortunately, Pat and his wife Ann (who was in the passenger seat) were not injured.

In a sense, the crosswalk attack was like a tangible metaphor for what McCrory’s life has been like these past three years. Take, for instance, what happened in Washington back in January of 2017. Pat and FOX Business anchor Lou Dobbs were strolling along a sidewalk in front of the Capitol Hilton, when an angry mob gathered and chased Pat into an alley. Within moments, Dobbs, his entourage, and D.C. police were able to rescue McCrory, but not before the former governor had been bombarded with shouts of, “Shame on you, you anti-gay bigot! You’re a bigot and an asshole!”

It’s a sad fact, but Pat McCrory seems to have a bullseye painted on his chest which attracts all sorts of slings, arrows, and outrageous tree limbs. However, as I’ve pointed out in past columns, the attacks on McCrory are misdirected and unjustified. To this day, most people only remember Pat for what they think was his role in passing the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, AKA HB2, AKA the “Bathroom bill”, AKA the “You can only use bathrooms that correspond to your biological sex” bill. Not only are provisions of the bill often misunderstood, but so is Pat’s role in signing it. Many folks believe McCrory planned, wrote, and lobbied for HB2, a law which large corporations, big name entertainers, and cowardly sports leagues, used as an excuse for not doing business in North Carolina. Truth is, Pat tried to stop the Republican-controlled General Assembly from passing HB2. In the end he was forced to sign a bill that he neither sought nor supported, in order to adhere to provisions in the state constitution which prevent local governments from assuming powers not given to them by the legislature. In a nutshell, here’s what happened.

In 2016, then-Attorney General Roy Cooper was running to unseat McCrory, who had been a successful, seven-term, coalition-building mayor of Charlotte. As governor, Pat tried to bring that same kind of bi-partisanship to Raleigh, including working with Democrats to pass an historic two-billion-dollar bond package that would modernize college campus facilities. He resurrected the state’s lagging economy, lowered unemployment, and under his leadership, North Carolina outpaced the nation in economic growth. Meanwhile, Donald Trump was poised to lead a GOP sweep through North Carolina. Cooper needed a miracle to beat McCrory, and Charlotte Democratic Mayor Jennifer Roberts handed it to him, giftwrapped. She and her council added “gender identity” as a protected class under the city’s public accommodations ordinance, and planned to enact and enforce it in a matter of days. If, for example, a business owner didn’t allow men who “identified” as women to use the women’s bathroom, then that owner would face a fine and possible jail time.

“I begged Mayor Roberts not to pass the ordinance,” Pat told me during a Triad Today interview. “I wrote her a letter saying, ‘You’re trying to find a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist’. The Attorney General should have declared the ordinance unconstitutional and intervened immediately, but he refused to do it because he was in the pocket, doing fundraisers with Mayor Roberts.”

By July of 2016, economic boycotts were piling up, but a little-known bi-partisan deal was in the works that would have removed enough controversial language from HB2 to end most of those boycotts. The compromise bill was supported by nearly every House Republican and by ten House Democrats. But according to a report by WBTV’s Nick Ochsner, Cooper torpedoed the effort by pressuring the ten Dems to vote against the bill.

Cooper stood by and watched HB2 burn red-hot because he knew it was his ticket to the governor’s mansion. Then, after taking office, he signed into law a so-called repeal of HB2, titled, HB142, which was a cosmetic bill with no teeth, designed to placate those who had boycotted our state. Ironically, HB142 pretty much just restored the status quo, and left gender identity issues up to the courts to resolve, something McCrory had wanted from the very start.

And so, boys and girls, Roy Cooper became governor by not enforcing the state constitution, while Pat McCrory became a private citizen for upholding it. Cooper got where he is by keeping HB2 alive, while McCrory got where he is by trying to prevent it. Today, Roy gets to go to ribbon cuttings, while Pat gets to be cursed at and have his car bashed with tree limbs. It’s just my opinion, but I think the wrong man is getting attacked.
 
 

Last week, Meredith College released a new poll showing that 56.7% of North Carolina voters believe a third political party would be good for our state and the nation. Moreover, those respondents agreed with a survey statement that said “…the two major parties do not do an adequate job of representing Americans.”

The Meredith poll results will come as no surprise to anyone who follows Tar Heel politics. After all, those of us who are registered as “Unaffiliated”, comprise the second largest voting block in the state, now numbering 2.1 million. That compares to 2.5 million registered Democrats, and 2 million Republicans.

Unfortunately, “Unaffiliated” is a designation, and not a political party. Absent being the latter, we alternative-seeking voters have always had a plethora of splinter parties to choose from. During the 2016 presidential election for example, there were 36 nationally recognized political parties, including the Libertarian party, the Green party, and the Socialist party. There were also over 30 active parties indigenous to particular states, like the Vermont Progressive party. The problem is that none of these parties have stood a chance in Hades of putting their candidate into federal office. In order to be viable, a political party has to be able to amass enough votes to win control of the White House, or a chamber of Congress, and right now, no such alternative party has that kind of strength.

In all fairness, though, the two major parties have done everything they can to prevent a national third party from becoming viable, including setting the bar high for upstarts who might dilute their power. For example, here in the Old North State, if a third party candidate wants to get on the ballot in 2020, her party must have garnered 2% of the total votes cast in 2016. Absent that, she must collect names totaling 2% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Since over 4.6 million people voted for Cooper and McCrory, that means a third party candidate for president must collect over 9,000 signatures if she wants her name to appear on the ballot.

But let’s not forget that there are 2.1 million unaffiliated voters registered in North Carolina, so if we all organized into the official Unaffiliated Party, and if our counterparts in the other 49 states do the same thing, we can be a viable force, capable of winning elections instead of spoiling them. The down side is that once that happens, it won’t be long before leaders in the Unaffiliated party will require our candidates to only support other Unaffiliated candidates, and once they’re elected, only vote for legislation that is endorsed by the Unaffiliated leadership. In time, our grand new party would become as partisan as the two old parties. That’s because when we humans get organized, we tend to become more tribal. We conform rather than question. We become less independent and more intolerant. Even worse, we often lose sight of the principals which brought us together in the first place. Just think about some of the early settlers who came to America in order to escape religious persecution, then immediately started burning witches and redacting Mueller reports.

Ironically, the Constitution makes no mention of political parties, and yet today, the two major parties are charged with interpreting, amending, and subverting that very document. With all due respect to the Meredith poll respondents, forming a nationally viable third party might seem like the best way to “adequately represent the needs of Americans”, but it might also just lead to more partisan gridlock. There’s one last thing to consider. In 2016, third party candidates siphoned off votes in key states that would have gone to Hillary, and that put Trump in the White House. If you’re among the 2.1 million unaffiliated folks in North Carolina, or the 56.7% who say we need a third party, you might want to reflect on 2016, and be a little less independent in 2020.

 
 

Growing up in Greensboro, Billy Wayne Craddock loved two things, football and music.

 

---

Jim: Who was your favorite singer when you were a boy?

Crash: I had a lot of them, Hank Williams, Faron Young, Jim Reeves, but my very favorite was Carl Smith.

Jim: So how did you get the nickname “Crash”?

Crash: A lot of people think I got it from racing cars, and where that came from was Marty Robbins introduced me one night as a “race car enthusiast”. Actually, I got it from playing football, believe it or not. I played right half back and my brother played left, and I was the smallest man on the team. So when the guard or tackle would open up a little hole, I was gone, ‘cause the other guys were so big I didn’t want to get hurt. [laughs]

---

 

But young Crash dreamed of making hits, not getting hit, so in 1957 he made his first professional recording at a local studio, singing the rockabilly song, “Smacky Mouth”. The following year he was picked up by Columbia records as their answer to Elvis. In 1959, Craddock, the Everly Brothers, and several other performers were booked for a concert tour of Australia. Sometime earlier, Crash had filmed a black-and-white demo of Boom Boom Baby, but unbeknownst to him, the film had made its way to Brian Henderson, popular host of the “Bandstand” program on Australian television. Said Henderson, “We played the film many times, and we were able to promote Crash Craddock so successfully that he was able to fill stadiums all over the country, and made several live appearances on “Bandstand”.

 

---

Crash: When I landed in Sydney, there were thousands of fans waiting, and I thought they were screaming for the Everly Brothers, but they had turned out for me because of the video that had played on Australian TV.

---

 

In fact, Boom Boom Baby became a number one hit down under, and Crash became a superstar in the land of Oz. Over the next two decades, Billy became the international “King of Country Rock” music, and racked up a number of hits here in America, including the sexually suggestive, Rub it In. Not long after he was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, Crash went to see a comedian perform at High Point Theatre, and one of the ushers recognized him.

“You know, I’ve never played here,” Billy told the usher. “Wait a minute, I want to introduce you to somebody,” said the usher, who then brought Crash together with Dave Briggs, director of the Theatre.

 

---

Dave: Billy told me he had never played here, so I said, “We can fix that!”

---

 

Briggs and Crash finally got their schedules to jive, and Craddock headlined a special show in the summer of 2016. On April 27, Crash returns to High Point Theatre for a much-awaited encore performance. On a recent visit to Triad Today, I asked Crash why he chose to remain in Greensboro, when he could have lived in so many other cities.

 

---

Crash: Jim, I love it here. When I go somewhere, I know how to find my way back. They asked me to move to Nashville several times, but I told them, “Look, I love my hometown. When I die, they’re going to put me in a pine box and send me back home anyway, so there’s no need to move. I’ll just stay right here.” [laughs]

---

 

I also asked Crash, now 79 years old, if women still throw their under garments at him on stage.

 

---

Crash: No. Now they throw Depends. [laughs]

---

 

You can listen to, and throw your underwear at, Billy “Crash” Craddock on Saturday, April 27 at 8pm, at High Point Theatre. For tickets, visit HighPointTheatre.com or call the box office, (336) 887-3001.

 
 

Ever since the 2020 presidential sweepstakes began, Democratic candidates have been on a continuous apology tour. Kirsten Gillibrand has apologized for once being a conservative and voting with the NRA. Elizabeth Warren has apologized for lying about being a Native American. Amy Klobuchar has apologized for verbally abusing her staff, throwing everything at them from notebooks to tantrums. Bernie Sanders has apologized for turning a blind eye to campaign workers being sexually harassed. Beto O’Rourke has apologized for making statements that smack of misogynism. Tulsi Gabbard has apologized for supporting homophobic policies while serving in the Hawaii legislature. And now, Uncle Joe Biden, a long-time senator and two-term vice president, has had to apologize for being a space invader.

Biden’s troubles began earlier this month when former Nevada legislator Lucy Flores claimed that Joe smelled her hair and kissed the back of her head while waiting to accompany her on stage at a 2014 rally, in which she was campaigning to be the state’s lieutenant governor. Flores’ five-year delay in feeling “uncomfortable” spawned a rash of similar #MeToo complaints from other women who now say that Joe put his hands on their shoulders, or touched their arm, or pressed his nose against theirs.

Some pundits speculate that Flores is motivated by politics given the timing of her announcement, and considering that, should Biden become a candidate, his chief competition would be Bernie Sanders, a man for whom Flores worked in 2016. But video is worth a lot more than speculation, so I reviewed footage of the 2014 rally, and discovered that right after Flores and Biden emerged from the alleged hair-sniffing incident, Lucy grabbed Joe’s right hand with her left hand, and thrust them up in the air together, as if she was a boxer declaring victory in the ring. She was smiling broadly during the hand clasp. Clearly she invaded Joe’s personal hand space, but Joe didn’t complain. No reasonable person would. And yet, five years later, Joe Biden is having to explain and apologize for being Joe Biden.

Last week, iconic women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem told the Associated Press, “I think women are more than smart enough to know that Joe Biden is who he is, and hugs everybody.” Steinem is correct. Joe hugs, kisses, and touches men and women alike. He is a touchy-feely guy who is now having to re-think his way of communicating. But while Joe is re-learning 21^st century etiquette (Nancy Pelosi advised him just to shake hands from now on), Steinem’s comment should also serve as a warning to women who are taking the #MeToo movement in the wrong direction. In an era when these same women complain of too much vitriol in Washington, their scolding of Joe Biden is ironic, for he is one of the few politicians who always exudes civility.

Certainly, there are valid reasons not to support Joe Biden for president, including his thumbs-up on a crime bill that filled our prisons with first-time drug users and a disproportionate number of black men. He also failed to give Anita Hill a fair hearing when she bravely accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. On the flip side, Joe has been a stalwart supporter of women’s rights, he single-handedly forced Barack Obama into endorsing same-sex marriage, and he has a straight-shooter appeal that could derail Trump in the Rust Belt and Midwest. Given those assets and a wealth of government experience, it would be a shame if hair-kissing and arm-touching forced Biden to exit the presidential race before he even enters it. If that happens, then the #MeToo movement might be responsible for handing Donald Trump the keys to the Oval Office for another four years, and that’s a personal space we don’t need him in.

 
 

As a child actor starring in The Rifleman, Johnny Crawford had to memorize lines at a grueling pace. As an adult, he had to memorize lyrics to the songs he sang while conducting his own orchestra. Today at age 73, Johnny’s memory skills have been significantly diminished by Alzheimer’s, and the care he receives is expensive. That’s why his friend and fellow child star Paul Petersen (Jeff on The Donna Reed Show), along with members of Petersen’s support organization, “A Minor Consideration”, started a GoFundMe campaign to lessen the financial burden on Johnny and his wife Charlotte.

I first met Johnny at the 2014 Western Film Festival and have kept in touch ever since. He and Paul, however, have been friends since 1955 when they were both cast by Walt Disney to be in the original group of Mouseketeers. I spoke with Paul last week about Johnny’s condition, and about the fundraising effort.

 

---

Jim: When did you first know that Johnny had Alzheimer’s?

Paul: Last Summer, my wife and I, Tony Dow, Johnny and others were at the Hollywood Museum to honor Annette (Funicello), and we noticed that something was amiss with Johnny. He seemed to be a little confused, but we covered for him because that’s what you do for friends. Later when Charlotte had to put him in a facility, we knew what it was and how severe it was.

Jim: When did you start the GoFundMe campaign?

Paul: Well we had to get approval from my board of directors, and most importantly we had to get permission from Charlotte because it would be a public affair. She was grateful for the help, and frankly kind of surprised because Johnny had always been the one helping other people, and now, here was the whole bunch of former kid stars taking care of one of their own. So we started the campaign formally about five weeks ago, and it just exploded right out of the gate because people know who Johnny is. He’s like everybody’s brother because we had all watched him grow up on The Rifleman..

---

 

In recent years, GoFundMe pages have come to the rescue for people in special circumstances. Last Fall, for example, following complications from knee surgery, Dawn Wells, star of Gilligan’s Island, was faced with staggering medical bills. Paul and his gang of former child stars contributed to that fund, which raised over $200,000.

 

---

Paul: It’s rare, when you try to help someone, that all of the monies end up going to the person who needs it. GoFundMe did right by Dawn.

---

 

And while fundraising efforts like those for Johnny and Dawn offer financial assistance, that’s not the main focus of “A Minor Consideration”, a group that Paul and his wife Rana formed in 1991 to advocate for the rights of child actors, and offer them guidance and support as they transition into adulthood.

 

---

Paul: In too many instances the parents take the money (that kids make).

---

 

In fact, in 50% of all the troubles when it comes to high-profile kids, whether it’s sports or music, or the film business, the parents are at fault. They have not prepared the children and that’s a shame. In other cases, kids are cheated by managers and agents. In the other half of problems, chalk it up to kids who make bad decisions.

Paul knows something about the pitfalls of fame at an early age, and not long after his successful run on The Donna Reed Show, an award-winning former child star took the time to offer him support.

 

---

Paul: Mickey Rooney showed up at my front door, barged into my front room, took over my couch, and said, “Paul, you’ve got to get out of town, get your education, and find something else to do because they won’t let you work for 25 years.” And I said, “What the heck are you talking about, Mick? Why are you saying that?” And he said, “Because Paul, it happened to me.” Mickey paid it forward to me, and I have paid it forward by having that same kind of conversation with other prominent kids.

---

 

Paul’s pal Johnny Crawford has paid it forward over the years, too, and now, as fans, we can repay Johnny for the great joy he has given us over the years. To make a donation to the Johnny Crawford Alzheimer’s Fund, visit their page at www.gofundme.com. To learn more about A Minor Consideration, visit www.AMinorConsideration.org.

 
 

North Carolina’s gerrymandered congressional boundaries are, to say the least, confusing. For example, if you stand in the middle of NC A&T University’s campus, you’ll have one foot in the 6^th district, and the other foot in the 13^th district. And while the courts and our state General Assembly may alter those boundaries by next year, and while some residents of those districts may disagree with the politics of their respective representative, the upside is that Mark Walker and Ted Budd, both Republicans, are two of the most honest, congenial, and hard-working politicians I have ever known. High praise indeed from this old liberal Independent who often disagrees with them on public policy initiatives, many of which we discussed last week when both men stopped by the studio to tape a special edition of Triad Today, which will air this Saturday at 7:30am on abc45, and Sunday at 11am on MY48. An audio edition will air on WSJS radio, Saturday at 8:30am. During the half-hour program, we covered a wide range of topics, ranging from hate speech to immigration. What follows are some highlights from our conversation.

 

---

Jim: When Republican congressman Steve King made racist remarks, you guys drafted a resolution condemning him, and even stripped him of his committee assignments. But when Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar made anti-Semitic remarks, her name was nowhere to be found on a resolution. Is that why the two of you voted against the final resolution?

Ted: It was nearly unanimous when Republicans spoke against the words of Steve King, but when it came to Omar, the Democrats came up missing. They didn’t deal with the committee assignments, they didn’t deal with the actual hate speech which she had repeated multiple times.

Mark: I was in the room when we made the decision to remove Steve King from his committees. We expected that the Democrats would offer the same decorum.

Jim: Speaking of resolutions, why not draft one that admonishes President Trump for his divisive rhetoric, which the Southern Poverty Law Center says is responsible for the historic rise in hate groups, and which the New Zealand shooter said inspired him to kill 50 Muslims?

Mark: I have no problem calling out hate and standing up for injustice anytime it happens, but I will push back a little on the Southern Poverty Law Center. Though they did great work in the beginning and should be commended for it, they list people like Ben Carson and the Family Research Council as hate groups, and I think the SPLC needs to be more responsible.

Jim: Nearly every mass shooting over the past 20 years has involved assault-style weapons and large capacity ammo clips. Do you support a ban on those weapons and clips?

Ted: Absolutely not. We have to deal with those who have terrorist intent, and those who have criminal intent. You have to deal with the people and not the device.

Mark: I’m willing to take a second look at anything that comes across our desk, but Republicans stand strong for background checks. Also, last session we worked on the “Fix/Nix” legislation which deals with the national criminal data base, to make sure there were no loopholes or gaps.

Jim: I am not a fan of President Trump, but he’s right when he says we have a border crisis. In February alone over 75,000 illegal immigrants crossed our southern border, and that number is expected to grow to one million by year’s end.

Ted: This has been a problem that is very bi-partisan. Go back to 2006, 2011, and 2013. $50 billion dollars was appropriated, and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer were behind the “Secure Fences Act”. Now, all of a sudden when Trump is in office, they’re absolutely against him. It’s become hyper-politicized, and we need to realize this is a national security issue.

Mark: I’ve looked at these numbers, and there’s been a 572% increase in illegal immigration since the last administration, and now it’s a humanitarian issue because we’re seeing immigrant children being abused. Even Doctors Without Borders will tell you that one out of three of these young girls are being assaulted, and one out of six young men.

Jim: How are things different now that you’re no longer in the majority?

Mark: It’s a little different place, but you know what? It’s a privilege and an honor to serve the people of North Carolina, and we’re still learning. I’m happy to have the opportunity, and we hope to do the very best job we can.

---

 
 

A noose was found hanging at a Boeing factory in North Charleston. A New York City youth was arrested for drawing Nazi swastikas on the school playground. A White Nationalist Coast Guardsman was arrested just before he was able to carry out a mass terrorist attack, and another White Nationalist murdered 49 Islamic worshippers inside a New Zealand mosque. All this, and we’re not even three months into 2019. And, if a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center is any indication, the next nine months could be just as bad.

Last month the SPLC issued its annual “Year in Hate and Extremism” report, in which the number of hate groups in the United States (now estimated at 1,020) is said to be at a 20-year high. Heidi Beirich, director of the civil rights organization, blames the sharp rise on divisive, hate-filled rhetoric and policies from Donald Trump. In a statement released to the media, Beirich said, “The numbers tell a striking story – that this president is not simply a polarizing figure, but a radicalizing one.”

But where does polarizing end and radicalizing begin? On the campaign trail Trump suggested that NRA members with guns could take care of Hillary. He also referred to Mexicans as murderers and rapists. Later, as president, he sought to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, and told his supporters that “Islam hates us.” And, just two days before the New Zealand massacre, Trump told Breitbart News that liberals who disagree with his political agenda better watch out. Said Trump, “I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of Bikers for Trump. I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough until they [liberals] go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”

Let’s be clear. Donald Trump has never told anyone to draw swastikas or hang nooses, nor has he ordered anyone to go out and massacre a church full of innocent people. On the other hand, if Beirich’s conclusion is accurate, then the President bears some responsibility when unstable individuals heed his words, and then act upon them. For example, in his nearly 80-page manifesto, Brenton Tarrant, the man charged with the New Zealand massacre, cited Trump’s rhetoric as an inspiration for his attack on Muslims. Still, after news of the attack reached Mr. Trump, he denied that White Nationalism is a rising threat. “I think it’s a small group of people who have very serious problems,” said the President. First, White Nationalists are not a small group of people, and second, if you think they have problems, then why throw fuel on the fire with hateful tweets and speeches? Why not allocate government resources to prevent and combat the growing threat of terrorism by White Nationalists? Why defend some of the Nazis at Charlottesville as “fine people?” The answers to those questions may lead us to conclude that Trump is a racist, but more probably he is just afraid of losing his mostly white base.

In the musical South Pacific, there is a song whose lyrics include a possible explanation for how someone comes to identify as a White Nationalist.

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear.

You’ve got to be taught from year to year.

It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear.

You’ve got to be carefully taught.

The implication is that children learn to hate from their parents, but as those children grow older, they can also learn to hate from the words of influential public figures.

During the 2008 presidential campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain, private citizen Trump kept claiming that Obama was born in Kenya. Later, a woman who had bought into Trump’s racist rhetoric stood up at a McCain town hall, and said, “I can’t trust Obama. […] He’s an Arab.” McCain could have nodded or smiled in tacit agreement. He could have worked the crowd up into a frenzied chant of “Send him back! Send him back!” Instead, McCain took the microphone from the woman and said, “No ma’am. He’s a decent family man and citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with.”

That’s how a real leader is supposed to sound. That’s how a real leader uses words to stand up to his base in order to defuse and denounce hate speech. That’s how a real leader inspires us to do our best, instead of inspiring others to do their worst.

 
 

A couple of weeks ago, YESWeekly editor Katie Murawski told me that this issue was going to salute Wonder Women of the Triad, and asked if I would participate.

Immediately my thoughts turned to the first two Wonder Women I ever met, both from the Triad. The first was Dr. Mary Griffith. In the 1940s and ’50s, Dr. Griffith supervised medical students, and was one of the first women named to the Wake Forest Baptist Hospital medical school faculty. She also brought me into the world, with help, of course, from the very next Wonder Woman I met—my Mom, Charlotte. One of them spanked me once, and the other one spanked me as needed. Mom had been a stand-out basketball player at the old Gray High School in Winston-Salem, and had a talent for creative writing. After marrying my Dad, she became a tireless volunteer for the Cancer Society, a long-time proof reader for Hunter Publishing, and, most importantly, the world’s greatest Mom. Unfortunately, Mom and Dr. Griffith are no longer with us, and I knew that Katie wanted me to write about women who are still actively working wonders in the Triad, so I decided to recognize just a few of the many thousands of ladies who have appeared on my Triad Today television program.

DD Adams has served on Winston-Salem City Council since 2009. She led the effort to raise pay for police, firefighters, and city employees, and in 2018, DD ran for Congress against incumbent Virginia Foxx. She lost that fight, but continues to fight for the rights of all people.

Karen Barnes is executive director of Venture Café, a venue for people to network with and be inspired by fellow innovators and entrepreneurs. In less than two years, VC’s Thursday night gatherings have attracted over 12,000 participants.

Avery Crump is the newly elected District Attorney for Guilford County. She is also the first woman D.A. and first person of color to hold that position. A former judge, Avery told me she gave up her black robes for a chance to prosecute criminals and perhaps help shape new laws in the process.

Eunice Dudley is co-founder of Dudley Beauty Products and Beauty School System. She and her husband Joe Dudley, Sr. went from selling Fuller brush products to creating a global presence in the beauty products industry. Eunice is dedicated to community service and sits on a number of local boards.

Ursula Dudley Oglesby is the daughter of Joe and Eunice Dudley, and she became President of Dudley Beauty Corp. in 2008. Ursula began working for her parents at age 7, went on to earn a law degree, then returned to the family business. Under her leadership, the company has expanded from 57 to over 300 products.

Margaret Elliott has been at the helm of Crisis Control Ministries for 20 years and during that time has met the emergency needs of countless thousands of individuals and families, while helping them to become self sufficient.

Sylvia Sprinkle Hamlin is executive director of both the N.C. Black Repertory Company, and the biennial National Black Theatre Festival. In 2000 she also became the first woman to lead the Forsyth County Public Library system.

Dr. Tina Merhoff, founder of Tina S. Merhoff & Associates Pediatric Dentistry, doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk. A dedicated advocate for children’s health, Tina holds an annual “Make a Kid Smile” event where she and her staff offer free dental care and procedures to children whose family couldn’t otherwise afford it.

Kim Record is the Athletic Director at UNCG who, last year alone, presided over five conference championships. She is responsible for overseeing 17 athletic programs, and in 2017, 169 of her student athletes made the Southern Conference honor roll.

Kimberly Roberts is Vice President of marketing and brand management for Crumley Roberts attorneys at law. Her passion is empowering women of all ages and educating families about child safety. Through the Roberts Center and her own Red Affect Boutique, Kim is able to fund and award college scholarships for students who are beginning their life journey, and women who are re-launching theirs.

Of course, no list of Wonder Women would be complete without a nod to my beautiful wife Pam Cook, who, in addition to running her own public relations firm, manages to find time to assist me with Triad Today, and keep me grounded. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t look at me and say, “Jim, there’s something really wrong with you.” Spoken like a true Wonder Woman.

 
 

In 1993, Ross Perot warned that within ten years, NAFTA would suck jobs out of America and spur a wave of plant closings. Turns out he was right. The Economic Policy Institute reported that, as of 2007, NAFTA had cost one million Americans their jobs. As if that wasn’t bad enough, greedy big banks and insurance companies were busy creating an historic home loan crisis that led to a near depression in 2008. The combination and convergence of those two disasters had a devastating effect on cities whose economy depended upon textile, automotive, and furniture plants. Danville, Virginia was particularly hard hit, with the closure of Dan River Mill, loss of tobacco jobs, and a decline in rail traffic. Now, Danville has an opportunity to bounce back big time.

Last year, Danville (along with economically depressed Bristol) commissioned a study by the Chmura Group which concluded that a casino resort would create nearly 7,000 new jobs, and net over $20 million dollars in annual tax revenues for the city, whose vice mayor, Lee Vogler told me, “Unprecedented jobs and revenues would be created. It’s the biggest economic development opportunity in my lifetime.” Buoyed by that study, Danville City Council planned to hold a local referendum this fall in which voters could greenlight a casino project. Unfortunately, lawmakers in Richmond slammed on the brakes, ruling that the General Assembly must first conduct an impact study before it can give permission to hold a referendum. That means it will be sometime in 2020 before a vote is taken.

Given the findings of the Chmura Group, a company who the General Assembly itself has relied upon in the past, I asked Vogler why another study was warranted. “I’m not sure about the logic of that,” he said. “Perhaps they want to know if there would be any negative impact on statewide economic development, but our local economic development office has found no negative impact. In fact, 40 other states have test cases, so there’s plenty of data available. I didn’t see any reason to delay.

Vogler admits that state legislators need time to meet and decide how casinos would be regulated and by who, but those kinds of procedural matters need not keep local voters from approving a casino project in principal. I smelled a rat, and asked the Vice Mayor why any elected official in their right mind would oppose or delay something that could benefit so many people in depressed cities.

“Some legislators don’t want casinos in their part of the state, like Northern Virginia which is flush with cash. They don’t understand the needs of areas like Danville and Bristol, and what the casino would mean to us. Right now we have $150 million dollars in capital improvement needs for our schools, and the tax revenues from a casino would help us build and improve schools.”

But an insensitivity to the economic needs of Danville isn’t the only reason that some legislators put up road blocks for a casino.

“There has been some opposition from people who say gambling is against their religious beliefs, which I respect. But when I ask them if they have ever bought a lottery ticket, or a church raffle ticket, they say, ‘Yes’. I tell them that’s gambling. They respond by saying, ‘Yes, but lottery sales and raffle proceeds go for a good cause,’ and I tell them, so will casino revenues.”

Vogler also suspects that some folks think a casino will bring organized crime to Danville, but there is no evidence to support that myth. Moreover, the American Gaming Association polled law enforcement officers who actually work around casinos, and they reported that crime has not increased on their beat.

For now, Vogler and his counterparts in Bristol and Portsmouth hope to educate state lawmakers about the benefits of casinos, and move the timeline up for a local vote. “I want to get it in front of our citizens. If this goes to a referendum, it will pass. I think the casino is coming sooner or later, said Vogler.”

Casinos almost always make money, thus the phrase, “Never bet against the house”. But the odds have been stacked against the folks of Danville for a long time, and a casino may be the only way for their luck to change.