Triad Today

Late last year Seattle-based Amazon.com announced plans to build a second headquarters in order to better serve its growing customer base in North America. Amazon says the new plant will cost $5 billion dollars to construct, and will eventually bring 50,000 jobs to the community that lands it. But not every community is in the running. For one thing, Amazon said it would only locate the so-named HQ2 in a metropolitan area with a population of at least one million people. Moreover, the new facility will require 750,000 square feet of space from the get-go, and up to 8 million square feet by 2027.

Immediately following the big announcement, a number of big cities began wooing the e-commerce giant, while some smaller localities let it be known that they hoped to team up with adjacent cities and counties in order to meet Amazon’s population criteria. Nevertheless, Atlanta is now rumored to be the front-runner. In fact, according to Business Insider’s Haley Peterson, Amazon is sending a lobbyist to meet with Georgia lawmakers sometime this month, presumably to negotiate potential perks, such as tax breaks and cash incentives. Even so, Amazon could do a lot worse than the Piedmont Triad. After all, we have the space. We have a slew of community colleges to help train or re-train prospective employees, and we have the infrastructure to accommodate Amazon’s logistical requirements. But there are some ethical flies in the ointment for Triad area officials.

Over the past few years a number of local governing bodies and business organizations have urged all of us to “Buy Local”, rather than do our shopping online. They point out that local businesses pay local taxes, hire local employees, bank locally, and contribute to local charities. The message from local leaders has been clear: “Local is good, Amazon is bad”. Now, these same local officials are all giddy over the possibility of luring “bad” Amazon to our area. Suddenly their “Buy Local” message has become convoluted. So which message are we to believe? How can we support local businesses if we recruit their nemesis to locate here? It’s a dilemma for sure, but one which might easily be resolved by examining a few facts.

First of all, in order to land Amazon’s new HQ2, we would have to pony up massive incentives. True, most economic development perks are tied to specific conditions of performance and employment. But we’ve been burned before by playing that game. Remember when Dell made our Commerce Secretary believe that we’d need to come up with over $300 million dollars in incentives in order to beat Virginia’s bid, which turned out to be only $30 million dollars? Then Dell promised to hire hundreds of people, only to turn around a year later and announce that the desktop computer market had dropped off, so they were closing the new plant in Forsyth County. Amazon says its new facility will eventually employ 50,000 people, but some market experts are already predicting a stock drop for Amazon, so there’s no guarantee that those jobs will ever materialize.

Second, let’s get back to the harm Amazon does to local businesses. One reason Amazon is able to undercut local stores is because of the tax breaks and other incentives it receives, which are not available to those local stores, and which helps to lower Amazon’s overhead. In a 2014 article for Alternet, Jim Hightower reported that, in Texas, Amazon enjoys a “price subsidy of more than eight cents on every dollar of its sales”. Those kinds of subsidies net Amazon an additional several billion dollars in profit each year. Hard for a local shoe store to beat those odds. Then there is the matter of pay. According to a 2013 report by Glassdoor.com, Amazon pays its warehouse workers about 17% less than the average American warehouse worker. That also translates to lower overhead for Amazon. And speaking of warehouse workers, that brings us to another ethical dilemma when recruiting Amazon to our area.

According to the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) and other sources, Amazon works its employees long hours under sometimes unhealthy conditions. For example, ILSR noted “life threatening” temperatures inside some of Amazon’s warehouses during summer months. And just last week, Tribune newspapers reported that an Amazon fulfillment center in Plainfield, Indiana had been without heat for at least three weeks. Facility employees feared losing their jobs if they complained of the frigid working conditions, and Amazon only attended to the problem after word leaked out to the news media.

So let’s review. If the Piedmont Triad were to land Amazon’s new plant, there would be no guarantee of 50,000 jobs, nor of how well those employees would be paid or treated. Local businesses would continue to suffer because they can’t compete with Amazon, who we’ve agreed to help subsidize. And, our local leaders would have to change their slogan to, “Buy Local, Except for Here.”

Truth is, Amazon probably won’t locate HQ2 in the Triad, but that might not be such a bad thing. Newly fashioned jobs are important, but so are old-fashioned ethics.

 
 

When I was a little boy, I dreamed of becoming a great athlete, a rugged cowboy, or a famous actor. None of those dreams came true for me, but all of them did for one little boy who grew up poor in war-torn Nazi Germany. His is a remarkable journey which even he is astonished by, thus the title of his new book, I’ll Be Damned: How My Young and Restless Life Led Me to America’s #1 Daytime Drama.

For the past 38 years, Eric Braeden (real name Hans Gudegast) has starred as Victor Newman, the iconic, EMMY-winning antagonist of The Young and the Restless. He arrived at the fictional Genoa City in 1980, first by way of Bredenbek, Germany (the town from which he took his stage name), then Galveston, Texas, then Montana and California. As a young man he was a track and field champion in his native land, then after immigrating to America he took jobs as a ranch hand, a furniture mover, a car valet, a lumber mill worker, and a documentary filmmaker, before his good looks and considerable talent led him to a full-time acting career. Like his alter ego on TV, Eric is a serious man who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He is a deep thinker who is passionate about politics and the state of the world around him. He has a wry sense of humor and a strong sense of self, and, above all, he is fiercely devoted to his family. I recently spoke with Eric about a wide range of topics, including his decision to write an autobiography.

JL: Why did you write the book? And why now?

EB: Several people had prevailed upon me, including my family, to write it down, so finally I succumbed, and it was not as painful as I thought it would be. Not that it was painful, but there’s a point where you just don’t want to talk about yourself. I’m interested in things outside of myself…because a constant preoccupation with oneself leads to nowhere.

JL: Your love of and proficiency in athletics is a common thread that runs through the book. What does the competition of sports teach us about life?

EB: Essentially what it teaches you is not to give up. Even if you suffer a loss, you come back and say, “OK, how do I improve what I do?”, and then try it again, and the next time you’ll probably be better. I grew up competing in discus, shot put and javelin, and what’s so great about track and field is that it is qualitatively measurable. There’s no bullshit about it. And you never give up, and that has become a guiding principal in my life. I don’t take “No” for an answer. I don’t listen to people who say I can’t do something. I say, “Oh really? I’ll show you.”

JL: That defiant spirit manifested itself in 1966 when you landed the role of a Nazi officer in The Rat Patrol. The producers wanted you to play the character in stereotypical fashion, but you refused because you wanted him to be a three-dimensional human being. Did it occur to you that ABC might have fired you for not taking “No” for an answer?

EB: I didn’t care. If I know that I’m right about something, then I don’t care. I was not insisting on something that was morally wrong. I just wanted it to be a truer representation of what it meant for a young German to be in the Africa Corps for heaven’s sake. There are so many stereotypes about Germans, about Russians, about Americans, and those stereotypes are dangerous.

JL: Is it true that while filming Rat Patrol you actually showed up in court one day wearing your Nazi uniform to defend against a speeding ticket?

EB: You know, [laughs] I hate to say it, but yes I did. We were shooting at MGM and I had to rush to court, but there was no time to change. So I walked in with my hat under my arm and the marshals had a big grin on their faces, and I apologized for the uniform. [During the hearing] I asked the officer, ”When did you have your speedometer calibrated last?”, and he couldn’t answer. I won the case.

JL: How could you not? [both laugh] In 1970 you had a chance to break out of playing German soldiers, when Universal offered you the starring role in the sci-fi classic, Colossus: The Forbin Project. But the studio would only hire you if you took an Americanized name, so Hans Gudegast became Eric Braeden. Did you ever regret changing your name?

EB: To be honest with you, at first, almost every day, but the name Braeden gave me an emotional tie to the village I came from. Still, it was a difficult thing, no two ways about that.

JL: Does anyone still call you Hans?

EB: Only close friends. It’s an extraordinary separation. Anyone who knows me as Eric, and calls me Hans, I say, “No, no, you don’t have that privilege, don’t do that.” And vice versa.

JL: After Colossus, you were in demand as a guest star on a myriad of TV dramas, then in 1980 you were hired for Y&R.

EB: When I made the choice to do a soap. A lot of actors said, “You’re doing what?”, as if I had contracted some type of disease. [laughs] A lot of those people have not been heard from since, but I’m still working. I’m still standing.

JL: I heard that you never watch yourself after an episode’s been shot.

EB: Doing a film you have all of the time in the world, big deal. Doing night-time television, big deal. But doing what we do is a harder medium than any in Hollywood. About a month ago I had to learn 74 pages of dialogue in one day. It’s hard work under very limiting circumstances and I have great respect for our production company, but I’m hard put to watch something that I was a part of. No, it’s on to the next thing.

JL: Speaking of the next thing, you are quite fervent in your beliefs about helping others. One way to do that is by holding elected office. Your father once served as a mayor, so why haven’t you run for governor or Congress?

EB: [laughs] Good question, but I would have pissed off too many people. I say what is on my mind, and in that sense, I am not politically correct. Has it occurred to me? Vaguely. Am I interested in politics? Passionately, because we all need to be engaged, otherwise they [career politicians] run roughshod.

JL: Too bad you won’t run, because all of your fans would vote for you. By the way, I know you receive a lot of fan mail from women. Have any of them ever expressed a desire to know you in a carnal way?

EB: [laughs] Yeah, of course! Why not? And I’m very grateful to them.

JL: Eric, the title of your book isn’t so much one of profanity as it is one of astonishment, especially considering the journey you’ve made and where you ended up. Right?

EB: Absolutely. Totally astonishment.

I’ll Be Damned is available in book stores or from Amazon.com.
 
 

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.
 
 

As we celebrate and enjoy this holiday season, let’s not forget that there are people beyond our immediate circle of family and friends who could benefit from our love and generosity. Over the past decade, I’ve been able to showcase scores of community organizations on Triad Today, and in the process, I’ve learned that there are several ways we can help these agencies help others. The first is to donate goods. Second is to donate money. And, third is to donate our time. Of course, some nonprofit groups can benefit from all three types of giving. Here, in no particular order, are just a few organizations to which you might lend your support.

Kernersville Foundation: Founded in 1999, the Kernersville Foundation provides financial assistance to non-profit organizations that serve the Kernersville community. Beneficiaries include the Mayor’s Council for Persons with Disabilities, the Kernersville Little Theatre, Kernersville Cares for Kids, and many more. Donations can be made directly online by visiting KernersvilleFoundation.org.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC: Unfortunately, the Piedmont Triad has one of the worst hunger problems in the nation, and that includes the problem of childhood hunger. To help alleviate the hunger problem, the Second Harvest Food Bank distributes food to churches and nonprofit agencies that feed hungry people in an 18 county area. You can write a check directly to the food bank, and you can drop-off non-perishable food items at a number of locations in our area. For more information call 336-784-5770, or visit HungerNWNC.org.

Goodwill Industries of Northwest NC: Each year, over 45,000 people in Northwest NC are served by workforce development programs that are administered by Goodwill. Those programs are supported in part by the clothing and other items we donate, which are then sold at Goodwill retail stores. That means, the more items you donate, the more people will get back to work. Goodwill also welcomes monetary donations. For more information call 336-724-3621, or visit GoodwillNWNC.org.

Crossnore School and Children’s Home: The first Crossnore school was founded in 1913 as a boarding school for disadvantaged children. The Children’s Home, founded in 1909, began as an orphanage and today serves children in residential group foster care. The two organizations merged in January, 2017 in order to serve more children in the Triad and Western NC. The Triad campus is located on Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem. For more information, to volunteer, or make a donation, visit Crossnore.org, or call (336) 721-7600.

Cancer Services, Inc.: Their stated mission is “to enhance quality of life for those living with cancer, and to provide the gift of life through education”. Their services include patient advocacy, medication and financial assistance, providing equipment and supplies, offering peer support groups, and much more. 90% of funds donated to Cancer Services, Inc. goes directly to providing client services. In addition to money, you can also donate used equipment and supplies. Call 336-760-9983, or visit CancerServicesOnline.org.

Greensboro Urban Ministry is on the front lines when it comes to providing emergency assistance. Greensboro Urban Ministry provides homeless families in Guilford County a safe, temporary environment. They also operate a food bank, and offer a chaplaincy service. Volunteers are needed to prepare and serve meals, manage shelters, tutor children, and perform a variety of other duties. Monetary donations are also much appreciated. Call 336-271-5959, or visit GreensboroUrbanMinistry.org.

Mtn. Valley Hospice: a non profit program that serves a sixteen county area in North Carolina and Virginia, and provides personalized care for patients at the end of life, as well as comfort to families. Mountain Valley Hospice has six regional offices, and operates the Woltz Hospice Home in Mt. Airy and the SECU Hospice Home in Yadkinville. They also specialize in care for terminally ill children and veterans. To give money or inquire about volunteering, call 1-888-789-2922, or visit MtnValleyHospice.org.

The Petty Family Foundation: NASCAR legend Richard Petty and his family support a number of charitable organizations and specialized programs, including Paralyzed Veterans of America and Victory Junction Camp, the latter of which provides an uplifting experience for children with severe disabilities and terminal illnesses. To make a donation or learn more, visit PettyFamilyFoundation.org.

The P.O.W.E.R. of Play Foundation: Founded by former NFL star Ricky Proehl and his wife Kelly, the Foundation works with at-risk youth, teaching them important life lessons in a structured, sports-centered environment. Daily programs are offered at Proehlific Park in Greensboro, which also offers state-of-the-art athletic facilities for adults. Each year, Ricky also teams with Richard Petty to distribute toys to needy children through their “Santa’s Helpers” campaign. To make a donation or for more information, call 336-665-5233, or visit ProehlificPark.com.

Carolina Donor Services and Red Cross … There can be no greater gift at this holiday season than the gift of life, and that’s why you might consider donating blood, and signing a donor card. Either gesture requires only a few minutes of your time, and will almost certainly result in saving someone’s life in the future. You can reach Carolina Donor Services at 1-800 200-2672, or at CarolinaDonorServices.org. You can call the Red Cross at 336-333-2111, or via the internet at GSORedCross.org.

Please remember that your donations of time, money, or goods to area community organizations is vitally important, not just now, but throughout the coming year. It’s also a way for us to expand the circle of people we care about, and that’s something worth celebrating in this season of giving.
 
 

According to a recent poll, 61% of all Americans believe Donald Trump should be impeached if he is proven guilty of any of the sexual assault charges leveled at him by over a dozen women. But if he is removed from office, it probably won’t be because of his behavior toward women. It will more likely be due to his behavior in general.

I first wrote about Donald Trump’s erratic behavior in August of 2016. In that column I cited a number of incidents that many people found disturbing, among them: his mocking of a disabled reporter; his suggestion that Meghan Kelly couldn’t effectively moderate a debate because she might be on her menstrual cycle; his berating of a Muslim gold star family who had lost a son in combat, but who dared to criticize candidate Trump for his view of Muslims; his referring to a black man at a Trump rally as, “My African American”; his saying that the world would be a safer place if more countries have nuclear weapons; and his suggesting to a crowd of supporters that if Hillary was elected, they might take a shot at her. Unfortunately the lunacy and insensitivity didn’t end after Trump was elected.

Since taking office, Mr. Trump has obsessed about the results of last fall’s election, claiming that he would have won the popular vote had it not been for 3 million illegals who cast ballots for Hillary, a fact which has been disproven and which the President ignores. He even ignores his own words. Last year he admitted to and apologized for his language on the Access Hollywood tape, but now he says the tape might not be authentic. Last week he used an ethnic slur while staging a photo op with a group of Navajo war heroes, but doesn’t think he did anything wrong. Then there was the time he blurted out classified information to the Russian ambassador about Israeli security measures, but doesn’t understand why some of our intelligence officials reportedly now distrust him with sensitive information. And, along the way, he has alienated just about every ally in the world, including, most recently, when he re- tweeted anti-Muslim footage from “Britain First”, a fascist group that has been denounced by British government. Trump couldn’t see what harm he had done, but the British PM did, and so did Stephen Doughty, a member of Parliament, who said, “Trump is either a racist, incompetent, unthinking, or all three.”

It’s hard to explain Donald Trump’s inability to understand the consequences of his words, or the difference between reality and fantasy. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said of Trump, “He wanders between the real world, and the world of Donald Trump.” Iconic investigative journalist Carl Bernstein said of Trump’s tweets, “What we see is a road map of his mind, and it’s a very disturbing road map.” And David Gergen, former adviser to three presidents, commented, “Trump is living in his own reality.”

Nevertheless, the warnings of numerous former government officials now ring true. In 2016, no less than 50 former Republican security officials and cabinet secretaries issued an open letter saying that, if Trump is elected, he would be the most reckless president in our history. Former CIA director Michael Morell went even further, saying Trump, “…may well pose a threat to our national security, and would be a dangerous Commander-in-Chief.” And, Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate William Weld, who had served as an officer in the Justice Department, said of Trump, “He has a screw loose.”

But perhaps the most telling of criticisms- have come from a group of mental health professionals. In my 2016 column, I reported on the preliminary findings of that group, who just this year published a compilation of their conclusions in a book titled, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. In their book, they diagnose Mr. Trump as having a wide range of behavioral and emotional illnesses, including Narcissistic Personality Disorder. One of the contributors to the book is Tony Schwartz, who also co-authored Trump’s 1987 book, The Art of the Deal. Recently Schwartz told CNN that “He [Trump] doesn’t have a conscience, and he doesn’t have an internal moral arbiter.” It should be noted that the American Psychiatric Association has denounced the book, saying that it is unprofessional to diagnose someone without having seen them. But the book’s editor, Dr. Bandy Lee points out that any clinical conclusions reached by him and over two dozen other mental health professionals, are based upon their review of Trump’s own words, thus they have “seen” the patient, and believe him to be unfit for office. Editors at the New York Daily News concur, and, following the President’s anti-Muslim tweet storm last month, they published a scathing editorial titled, “Donald Trump is a Madman”. In it, they wrote, “After his latest spasm of deranged tweets, only those completely under his spell can deny what growing numbers of Americans have long suspected: the President of the United States is profoundly unstable. He is mad. He is, by any honest layman’s definition, mentally unwell…”.

Under the 25^th Amendment, the Cabinet can remove Mr. Trump from office by claiming he is “incapacitated.” As severe as that sounds, it may be the most expedient and least painful way for America to sever itself from this man, whose divisive words and actions continue to damage our own collective psyche, as well as our global relationships and reputation. Speaking with CNN, Mr. Schwartz said that Trump “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.
 
 

One of the earliest fables I recall from my childhood was about the boy who cried wolf. The story goes that a shepherd boy kept crying wolf when there was no wolf. Eventually the villagers got tired of being pranked with false alarms, so one day when a real wolf actually appeared, the boy cried for help, and no one came to the rescue. According to the Greek version, the boy and the sheep were killed by the wolf, prompting this lesson: “Even if liars tell the truth, no one will believe them.”

Today we are inundated with reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault, but the problem is, in many cases, we have no way of knowing whether the accused is lying, or if the accuser is crying wolf. Writing for SLATE.com, Cathy Young cited women’s activist Jessica Valenti as saying that we should, “believe victims en masse.” Valenti’s comments echoed those of attorney Catherine MacKinnon who, some three decades ago, wrote, “feminism is built on believing women’s accounts of sexual use and abuse by men.” But, says Ms. Young, “de facto presumption of guilt in alleged sexual offenses is as dangerous as a presumption of guilt in any case.”

Young’s warning makes sense. On the one hand we might logically conclude that a man who has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens or even scores of women, is probably guilty of at least some of the charges. We might also conclude that he is probably a sleazy, sexist pervert. On the other hand, we must be careful not to accept every accusation as fact until they are proven to be so.

Earlier this month while Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Roy Moore, Al Franken, John Conyers, and Charlie Rose were scrambling to defend themselves against a spate of assault charges, a woman called the Daily Mail to report that, in the Summer of 1986, Sylvester Stallone raped her in his Las Vegas hotel room. The woman, who was 16 years old at the time of the alleged assault, was very detailed in her description of the time and place. But a few days later, Stallone’s ex-wife, Brigette Nielsen, came forward and shot a big hole in the woman’s story. During the Summer in question, Sly was in Vegas filming Over the Top and also enjoying a honeymoon with Ms. Nielsen who said, “The incident did not occur. Most of the day I watched him film, then we’d have dinner and go to our room. No other person was in the room with him but me.” Nielsen went on to say that she and Sly were together 24/7. So much for the rape accusation. Perhaps the woman who lied about Stallone just wanted a big financial settlement or a book deal, nevertheless, false reports like hers are happening more frequently these days, and they don’t just involve celebrities.

Several years ago I wrote about a male teacher at Wiley Middle School in Winston-Salem who was suspended after three of his female students accused him of sexually assaulting them. Weeks later the girls confessed that they had fabricated the assault incident because they were angry that the teacher had given them a bad grade. Eventually the teacher was reinstated and received a cash settlement from the school system, but his reputation was permanently stained. History repeated itself last month when two local high school girls accused their male teacher of sexual assault. When news spread of the assault, protests and violence broke out at the school. Days later, the girls admitted they had lied. They made up the assault story because of their dislike for the teacher. Another reputation ruined.

Sadly, it’s not just reputations and careers that are damaged by false claims of sexual misconduct. In 2005, a male teacher in Roanoke, Virginia was accused of sexually assaulting a female student. The local prosecutor went after the teacher hard and was determined to make an example of him. After all was said and done, the girl admitted to lying, but the truth came too late. The teacher had committed suicide just prior to his exoneration.

And who can forget the woman who brought down the entire Duke University lacrosse team when she accused them of gang rape. Her accusations were later proved to be false, but not before the student athletes’ reputations were irreparably harmed, and their college lacrosse careers ended. And what about California high school football star Brian Banks who was sent to prison in 2007 for raping a female student. He was released five years later when the woman apologized for having made up the rape story. In a similar case, James Grissom spent ten years in a Michigan prison for raping a woman. He was released in 2012 after her story was proven to be a lie.

In the past few years women have cried wolf in Las Vegas, Winston-Salem, Durham, Roanoke, Detroit, and many other cities, resulting in great pain to innocent men and their families. In fact, some studies, such as one conducted by psychologist David Lisak, suggest that as many as 8% of all sexual assault claims are false, and another 50% never go to trial because of insufficient evidence. Thus, McKinnon and Valenti’s position that all female accusers must be believed, is clearly flawed, and quantifiably damaging.

Sexual assault is a serious crime and men who are guilty of it, especially those who prey on young girls and female employees, are despicable human beings, who should do hard time in prison if proven guilty. But girls and women who make false accusations should also be punished, first for ruining the lives and reputations of innocent men, and second, for making it more difficult for real victims of sexual assault to come forward and seek justice.

There are plenty of wolves out there, and we should all come running whenever there’s a cry for help. We just need to be sure who we’re attacking: the real wolf, or the one in sheep’s clothing.
 
 

Presidents are only human, so they make mistakes. No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump’s claim that President Obama wiretapped Trump Towers, or George Bush’s decision to invade the wrong country after 9/11. I’m talking about John Kennedy, and how he misread history, unintentionally insulted the State of Virginia, and was compelled to make amends.

The story begins on Wednesday December 4, 1619. That’s the day 38 English settlers from the London Company, navigated their ship down the James River and onto Berkeley Hundred (Harrison’s Landing), in what is now Charles City, Virginia, just 20 miles upstream from Jamestown, which had been settled twelve years prior. The landing party was led by Captain John Woodlief, who, as prescribed in the company charter, ordered a day of Thanksgiving to be observed upon their arrival, and every December 4th thereafter.

Over time, Berkeley became known for its historic firsts. The first bourbon whiskey was made there in 1621 (by a preacher no less). “Taps” was played for the first time while the Union army was encamped at Berkeley in 1862. And, of course, it was the site of America’s first Thanksgiving. More on that in a moment.

In 1907 Berkeley was purchased by John Jamieson who had served as a Union drummer boy during the army’s encampment at the plantation. Ownership later fell to his son (and my friend) Malcolm, who passed away in 1997. Mac loved Berkeley and was aggressive in marketing the historic site, including through the use of promotional videos and commercials which I helped to produce. He invited the public to tour the house and grounds, sold Berkeley boxwoods and bourbon, and held an annual Thanksgiving pageant which attracted tourists from across the country. But the celebration wasn’t always widely recognized.

One hundred years after his father beat the Yankee drums at Berkeley, Mac was upset by something another Yankee did. In the fall of 1962, President Kennedy issued his yearly Thanksgiving Proclamation in which he recognized his home state of Massachusetts as the site of America’s first Thanksgiving. And so, on November 9th of that year, Virginia State Senator John Wicker was prompted by Mac to write to the President, and point out Kennedy’s faux pas. In his telegram, Wicker referenced historical records about Berkeley’s celebration, which took place one full year before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620.

Later that year, Kennedy confidant and noted historian Arthur Schlesinger sent a reply to Wicker with a tongue-in-cheek apology from the President. According to Berkeley records, Schlesinger “attributed the error to unconquerable New England bias on the part of the White House staff.”

The following year, on November 5, 1963, President Kennedy had to eat crow during his annual Thanksgiving proclamation, saying, “Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia AND Massachusetts, far from home, in a lonely wilderness, set aside a day of thanksgiving.” Kennedy’s New England bias wouldn’t allow him to disavow Plymouth entirely, but Mac was happy that Berkeley finally gained official recognition for holding the first Thanksgiving, even if it was a shared honor. Sadly, it was to be Kennedy’s last proclamation. He was assassinated seventeen days later in Dallas.

The holiday season is now upon us, and it’s a time for celebrating with friends and family, and for remembering fondly those who are no longer with us. And in this season of giving thanks, perhaps we would all do well to emulate those weary English settlers, and just be thankful for surviving another day of our long journey. So here’s a Berkeley bourbon toast to Captain Woodlief, a little drummer boy, old Mac, and to that Yankee president who finally set the record straight. Happy Thanksgiving!
 
 

Some years ago I moderated a panel discussion featuring a number of television’s biggest stars. The event took place just prior to Election Day, so I began by asking, “Is it OK for actors to be openly involved in and vocal about politics?” A tinge of unease came over their faces. You would have thought I had asked them to disrobe. They, like many performers, worried that taking a political stand could alienate half of their viewers, or even derail their career.

Ed Asner knows what it means to pay a price for taking a stand. By 1982 Ed had seven EMMYs under his belt, many of which were won portraying newsman Lou Grant in two different television series (The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant). He was one of the most popular and successful actors in Hollywood, and Lou Grant, then in its fifth season, was still in Nielsen’s top ten. But Ed made one fatal mistake. No, he didn’t sexually harass his co-workers, or sell illegal drugs, or violate underage boys. Instead, his “crime” was to speak out against the Reagan administration’s Central America policy, and to help send humanitarian aid to Nicaraguan civilians under attack by U.S.-backed Contras. Suddenly CBS cancelled Lou Grant, and Ed was effectively blackballed from headlining his own network series. But Ed never stopped working, and today at age 88, he is still one of the most sought-after actors in America, and still one of the most politically active.

I first met Ed in 2010 while he was shooting a film in High Point, and took time out to visit the Triad Today studio to tape an extended interview (which is archived on JimLongworth.net). We recently spoke by phone about his new book, The Grouchy Historian: An Old Time Lefty Defends Our Constitution Against Right-Wing Hypocrites and Nutjobs, which he co-authored with TV scribe Ed Weinberger. The book clears up common misperceptions about our great document (it never mentions one-man/one-vote), and about the men who framed it (many were Deists more than they were Christians), while taking jabs at modern-day politicians and pundits who routinely misrepresent the Constitution in order to advance their own agenda.

Jim: Why did you write the book? And why now?

Ed: Well, both Ed Weinberger and I were commiserating with each other on how unhappy we were with the right-wing constantly claiming the Constitution was theirs, and we decided that some counter-thrust should occur.

Jim: What’s worse, right-wing nuts who abuse the Constitution, or a president who hasn’t read it?

Ed: [laughs] What’s the difference? He’s a pip. Trump is a P.T. Barnum like I’ve never witnessed in my life. There’s a sucker born every minute, and I think he’s corralled most of them.

Jim: Should the 25^th Amendment, which allows for a president to be removed from office due to incapacitation, be interpreted to include “mental” incapacitation?

Ed: I’ll probably be jumped on from every quarter for saying this, but it’s an inexact science. You can get one expert to testify to one’s sanity, and you can get another expert to say that the same man is looney tunes.

Jim: In the section of your book titled, “Asner’s Articles”, you advocate for free healthcare. Will America ever get a Medicare-For-All system like the one Bernie Sanders advocates?

Ed: Why is Canada’s achievement so impossible for us? Why? They have single payer, and they do so well, but we can’t seem to guide our policies that way.

Jim: The week before your book was released, 59 people were murdered at a concert in Las Vegas by a man with over a dozen assault rifles. Since then, another 26 people were killed in similar fashion while attending church services in Texas. Can we have effective gun control, and still preserve the spirit of the 2^nd Amendment?

Ed: Yes, there’s a way if you put the emphasis on the “militia” (police and military) being well-armed, and not individuals. I am shocked and disgusted that after that Las Vegas incident, that nobody in Congress has talked about gun control.

Jim: Let’s be realistic. Right-wingers are not going to buy your book.

Ed: They’ll borrow it [both laugh].

Jim: So then as an old Lefty, how do you ever reach the far Right, and help them have a better understanding of the Constitution, and of the issues facing us today?

Ed: Our problem in this country is that those folks don’t read, and Betsy DeVos is not helping them. If we could lead a mass education policy in this country, getting people to read what they should be reading, then we might get such books as mine popularly read.

Jim: Do you ever regret being politically active, and getting Lou Grant cancelled?

Ed: I second guess on it all the time. My great regret is that a show with ideas was removed from TV, and I don’t think we’ve had a show with ideas to take its place since. The causes we covered on Lou Grant are still untreated, and that’s the guilt I carry. But I don’t relive my past beyond that.

Jim: Like me, you’re an Independent, but what has to happen for Democrats to take back control of Congress and the White House?

Ed: Getting off their asses for one thing. If some preacher could come along and show Democrats the suffering caused by Republican policies, then I think that preacher could affect a large following.

Jim: So what would it take for you to stop being grouchy?

Ed: I think that avuncular is very attractive, and I like filling those shoes. I don’t want to stop being grouchy, and mind your own God damn business! [both laugh]

The Grouchy Historian is available in book stores and from Amazon.com.
 
 

Last month, in accordance with a 1992 law, President Trump ordered that the JFK assassination files be made public. However, thousands of documents in those files still remain under lock-and-key, at the request of the CIA and FBI. The remaining documents will now undergo a six-month review to determine if they too should be released. Some political pundits speculate that the protected documents might compromise informants who had been recruited by the CIA. Others believe that release of the remaining files will prove that US intelligence agencies were lax in their protection of Kennedy on November 22, 1963. In a sense, though, the speculation and the documents are moot because most Americans still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in Dallas, and that a conspiracy existed to murder our 35^th president. That was also the same conclusion reached by a Triad Congressman 40 years ago.

Greensboro native L. Richardson Preyer first came to national prominence when President Kennedy appointed him to serve as a US District Court Judge. Preyer made an unsuccessful run for governor in 1964, then was elected to Congress in 1969. But Preyer was most famous for having served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations from 1977 to 1978. The committee was formed to re-examine the facts surrounding the assassinations of John Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, and to determine if government agencies were involved in either murder. In 1979 Preyer and his colleagues released their final report, which concluded that there was at least one other shooter in Dallas, and that a conspiracy was involved. The committee’s findings were a shocking rebuke of the Warren Commission and its report which attributed Kennedy’s murder to a lone gunman and a magic bullet.

Historians and news reporters are no doubt salivating at the prospect that the complete JFK assassination files will be released next year, but even if that happens, it’s unlikely those documents will reveal the names of every conspirator, or tell us exactly what happened in Dallas. That’s because the kinds of people who would plot a high profile murder are not likely to have left a paper trail. Instead, what we are left with are a myriad of books, documentaries, and recorded eyewitness testimonies that offer up several plausible scenarios, from which we can draw our own conclusions.

One school of thought is that the CIA acted in concert with the Mafia to murder President Kennedy. Preyer’s committee found no evidence that such a partnership was responsible for JFK’s death, although the Church Senate committee suspected that the two factions had worked together before, including when mob bosses were employed by the CIA to attempt an assassination of Fidel Castro. Those who believe in a CIA/Mafia plot say that each side had good reason to want Kennedy out of the way. Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana wanted revenge on the Kennedys for double crossing him. In 1960, JFK’s father asked Giancana to help deliver West Virginia in the Democratic Presidential primary, and, in return, a Kennedy White House would turn a blind eye to mob activities. But once elected, JFK appointed his brother Bobby as Attorney General, and Bobby went on a crusade to expose and punish Giancana and other bosses. Meanwhile, CIA director Alan Dulles saw his power and influence being diluted by President Kennedy, who threatened to make changes at the agency after blaming Dulles for the botched Bay of Pigs invasion.

Though Richardson Preyer and his fellow committee members found no documented evidence of a government-led conspiracy to murder JFK, a conspiracy nevertheless existed. Regardless of who organized the hit, though, there is mounting evidence to support the congressman’s findings. For example, just days before the assassination, Miami police informant William Somersett recorded a phone conversation with a radical white supremacist named Joseph Milteer who told Somersett that Kennedy would be shot from an office building, and that police would pick up somebody within hours “just to throw off the public.” (the official recording is still available on YouTube). Later, FBI agent Don Adams gave credence to Milteer’s detailed prediction, and taped a video interview (also on YouTube) in which he said that Oswald did not kill Kennedy, and that there was a “massive failure to communicate the threat among intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, no less than 58 eyewitnesses testified that they heard gunfire coming from the grassy knoll, some having even seen puffs of smoke from a rifle, but their testimony was dismissed by the Warren Commission. And recently a British documentary expanded the conspiracy theory even further, claiming that there were eight sniper teams positioned in Dealey Plaza, including six gunmen spread out among three buildings, one set up behind the grassy knoll fence, and one hidden at road level, firing from a storm drain.

I believe that Congressman Preyer was on the right track 40 years ago, and I’m glad that President Trump is advocating for transparency 40 years later. But I fear that 40 years from now, we still won’t know exactly how many people were involved in the Kennedy assassination. Perhaps we’re not meant to know the entire truth, after all, they say ignorance is bliss. But ignorance can also lead to history repeating itself, and that’s not something any of us wants.
 
 

Often times it seems like we are inundated with celebrations of special causes, which include their own special color ribbon, or commemorative event. And while these events raise awareness and money, they are soon forgotten by the general public. They are, however, especially meaningful for those of us who have been directly affected by the causes they represent. And so it is for me and National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. Over the past ten years, no less than six of my family members were under hospice care before they died. That’s why I take every available opportunity to tell people about the benefits of hospice care, and of the special people who administer that care.

Hospice offers a multi-disciplinary, holistic regimen of medically supervised, end-of-life care for terminally ill patients, which is designed to keep them comfortable and pain-free. Hospice programs are staffed by a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, chaplains and others who administer to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient, while also lending support to the family. Hospice services can be offered in the patient’s home, or at a hospice-run facility, like the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home in Winston-Salem, the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Mt. Airy, and the new SECU Hospice Care Center of Yadkin.

I remember someone once said to me, “Hospice is where you go to die.” But just ask a hospice team member, or anyone who’s had a loved one under hospice care, and they will tell you that hospice is all about quality of life for the patient, and helping them live in comfort with dignity during their final journey. That’s why it is so important to meet with a hospice team as soon as your loved one is diagnosed with a terminal illness. In the early stages, the patient might benefit from extended palliative care, then gradually and seamlessly transition to full hospice care in the final six months. Advance planning is invaluable, and can prevent the kind of emotional turmoil that can occur when families wait too long to make a decision about hospice care.

But as much as hospice care benefits the patient, it also benefits family members, especially those who are thrust into the role of caregiver. For those folks, hospice provides peace of mind and a responsive support system, which includes volunteers who perform a wide variety of duties, including respite care, which allows caregivers to take a break from their day-to-day responsibilities.

Hospice also offers outreach programs that benefit patients, families, and the community. For example, Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care, which serves 17 counties in North Carolina and Virginia, offers counseling services and grief camps for children who have lost a loved one. They offer special hospice services tailored to the unique needs of military veterans. They provide pet care for patients. They have a volunteer choir that performs for patients and community groups. They operate a Re-Sale Shoppe where the public can donate items which can be given to hospice families, or sold to raise money for supporting the hospice mission. And, they provide all of these programs and services while maintaining a not-for-profit status, which means you can never be denied hospice care, regardless of your financial situation.

November is National Hospice & Palliative Care Month, so as we recognize the compassionate professionals who administer hospice care, I also hope you will take time to learn more about hospice, and how it might benefit you and your family. I also encourage you to donate your time to hospice because they are always in need of volunteers. For more information, visit the websites of Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care or Hospice Care Center.
 
 

Back in the day I joined the BOY Scouts because I was a boy. My sister joined the GIRL Scouts because she was a girl. There was nothing ambiguous or confusing about our choices, nor should there have been. It was just part of the natural order of things. Earlier this month, however, Boy Scouts of America upset the natural order of things. BSA underwent a sea change and a sex change by deciding to recruit girls into their ranks. The move left liberals and conservatives alike scratching their heads, and it put me in mind of something Gomer Pyle once said: “What a dumb thing! What a dumb thing to do!”

The national Girl Scout office had a more visceral reaction, saying, “The Boy Scouts’ house is on fire. Instead of addressing systematic issues of continuing sexual assault, financial mismanagement, and deficient programming, BSA’s senior management wants to add an accelerant to the house fire by recruiting girls.”

The sexual assault portion of that statement refers to a landmark 2010 court case in which the Oregon Supreme Court ordered BSA to release their long-hidden, so-called “perversion files”, containing more than 14,500 documents which detailed complaints of predatory abuse dating back to 1959. For over five decades, BSA had refused to tell police about sexual assaults by scout leaders and, even worse, had systematically guaranteed those offenders that the organization wouldn’t go public if they would just resign and move on. Thus BSA’s cover-up enabled sexual predators to re-locate and re-offend somewhere else. The abuse was far reaching and, according to a 2012 report by the Greensboro News & Record’s Amanda Lehmert, included seven predatory scout leaders in the Triad, along with specifics of their crimes dating back to 1967.

But BSA’s transgressions aren’t the primary argument for why girls should not join their ranks. In an exclusive interview with Lane Cook, CEO of Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont, she told me, “I hope girls will continue to choose Girl Scouts because we are the girl experts, and are dedicated to ensuring that girls are able to take advantage of a program tailored specifically to their unique developmental needs, not one tailored for boys and adapted for girls.”

And those developmental needs and differences to which Ms. Cook referred, are significant, as I learned back in 1993 while producing a documentary about the value of single-sex educational institutions. I interviewed a number of highly successful women, all of whom had either attended or managed an all-female school. What they told me was eye-opening.

Anne Marie Whittemore, then part of the legal team defending VMI’s right to stay all-male, and now a partner in McGuire Woods, told me, “Educators generally seem to believe that girls perform better in a supportive type of environment.” Cynthia Tyson, then-president of Mary Baldwin College, added, “Women increase in their self-esteem in a single-sex institution, and that leads to higher achievement for them when they go out into the world of work.” And attorney Anita Blair commented, “In my all-girl high school, a girl was president of the senior class. A girl was editor of the school newspaper. A girl was captain of every team, and we learned by being in an all-female environment, that women can do anything.”

Now, nearly 25 years later, those same developmental differences and needs remain the same.

“Girls thrive in an all-girl, girl-led environment such as Girl Scouts, where they can take center stage, and where the constant message is that nothing can stand in their way,” said Ms. Cook. “In Girl Scouts, girls can try new things, take risks, and take on challenging roles. Our girls follow their passions without worrying about what their male peers may think about them. Girls succeed in positions that otherwise might go to their male counterparts in a co-ed environment.”

Clearly, Girl Scouts offers a nurturing experience for their members, but is that going to be enough to stand up against what could be an aggressive campaign by BSA to recruit girls? Lane Cook believes that it is.

“Girl Scouts’ central focus, unlike that of BSA, has always been one of serving girls in an all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment, to create a safe space for them to learn, lead, and thrive. Only the Girl Scouts has more than 100 years of experience helping girls tap into their leadership potential by reinforcing and extending their skills in a supportive, encouraging environment, in which they feel safe to just be themselves.”

In all fairness, boys just need to be themselves too, and the best way to accommodate the developmental needs of both genders is to maintain and sustain two distinctly different scouting organizations. Kudos to the Girl Scouts for standing their ground. Thumbs down to the Boy Scouts for pulling a stunt to shore up membership. Sorry, BSA, there’s no badge awarded for disingenuous social engineering. It just has no merit.
 
 

I suppose somewhere in the sick mind of Stephen Paddock, he fancied himself a western gunslinger. But a gunslinger of the Old West had to cock the hammer on his six shooter before he could fire a single round. Paddock, on the other hand, was able to fire off 600 rounds per minute with one pull of the trigger. That’s because he used a bump stock on several of his semi-automatic rifles, which effectively turned them into machine guns, and enabled him to terrorize thousands of people at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas on October 1. The barrage of gun fire lasted for about ten minutes, and left 59 dead and over 500 others injured. And unlike the Old West villain who carved a notch on the handle of his Colt to commemorate every kill, Paddock didn’t live long enough to put 59 notches on his guns. No matter, though, because those 59 notches belong as much to Congress as they do to Mr. Paddock. Certainly, Paddock pulled the triggers, but our federally elected representatives, past and present, made it possible for him to have those weapons in the first place.

Time and again, in the aftermath of a mass shooting, Congress has had a golden opportunity to enact substantive gun reforms, but always failed to do so. And those opportunities have not been scarce. Since 2012, the United States has experienced no less than nine massacres, and the Vegas shooting was the bloodiest. In December of 2012, for example, parents of the 20 children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school, pleaded with Congress to enact new gun laws, but even their pleas fell on deaf ears. The same thing will happen in the aftermath of Vegas. The question is, Why? The answer is the NRA, an organization whose original mission was to promote gun safety, but now stands for gun proliferation.

Not surprisingly, today there are more guns in circulation than there are people, and those guns kill over 11,000 Americans each year. That compares to 165 gun deaths in Canada, 68 in the UK, 55 in Australia, and 39 in Japan. In those countries, government officials aren’t controlled by the NRA, nor do they condone the sale of semi automatic assault rifles for either home protection or hunting.

The truth is, I can stop an intruder with a double action handgun, or a double barrel shotgun. And I can kill a deer seven times over with an old-fashioned Trapper model Winchester. Clearly, no one needs an assault rifle, so those guns should be banned. We also need to ban all after-market modifications and accessories for those rifles. We need to charge a premium price for all ammo. And, once the reforms are in place, we need to confiscate all banned weapons and devices without regard for grandfathered exemptions. In other words, the new laws would go into effect retroactively.

No doubt we will have to wait on these reforms until Democrats hold a super majority in both chambers. But when and if that happens, they must also strictly enforce a Conflict of Interest rule, whereby any member of Congress who receives even a penny from the NRA, must abstain from voting on any gun related legislation. In the meantime, we’re stuck with a do-nothing Congress who believes in the NRA’s mantra, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” True enough, but Stephen Paddock couldn’t have knifed or clubbed 600 people inside of ten minutes, so guns DO kill people, especially assault weapons.

And so, for now, the best we can hope for is enacting stricter background checks, longer waiting periods, and a base-line mental health predictor, such as standardized psych evaluations for middle school and high school students, as well as for new hires of government agencies and publicly held companies. I just hope we won’t have to carve any more notches until then.