Triad Today

Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.” It’s an old familiar phrase to fans of TV police dramas, and a stark warning to all would-be criminals to think twice before doing something bad. But people don’t always heed that warning. Nevertheless, when they get caught, there is a reasonable expectation that the punishment will fit their crime. Unfortunately, judges and juries don’t always adhere to that expectation.

Sometimes, sentences are too light. Take for instance the Triad man who several years ago decided to go bar hopping, get sloppy drunk, refuse a cab ride home, and then get behind the wheel of his car. Moments later he drove onto a sidewalk and struck a pedestrian, dragging his victim a hundred yards before realizing what he’d done. The man died and the driver got off with time served (about a year) plus community service. I’m sorry, but when you deliberately get drunk, deliberately drive a car, and kill someone, that’s no accident, it’s murder, and you should go to prison for life.

Then there was the 2013 case in Billings, Montana in which a male teacher raped his 17-year-old female student. The girl was so distraught that she committed suicide. The judge sentenced the teacher to 30 days in jail. In justifying his ruling, judge Todd Baugh said that the victim was, “older than her chronological age”, and was, “in control of the situation” when she was raped. As appalling as that verdict was, it is not unusual. There are 90,000 rapes reported each year in the United States, but according to the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network, only 3 out of every 100 rapists receive jail time.

But just as some judges are too lenient, others are too harsh. This is particularly true when it comes to handing down sentences for possession and cultivation of marijuana. A kid with no criminal record who gets caught with several ounces of pot can go to jail for several years, and if he happens to have 100 or more marijuana plants on his property, he can receive 40 years in prison. I’m not condoning the use of pot, but increasingly the country is moving toward legalization, and creating special drug courts to advocate for rehab, so handing down lengthy prison sentences for possession seems inappropriate.

Speaking of inappropriate sentencing, I am baffled by the verdicts in two recent, but unrelated cases. The first one involves a Massachusetts man who committed suicide. Conrad Roy, age 18, was extremely depressed and kept telling his girlfriend, 20-year-old Michelle Carter, that he intended to kill himself. For whatever the reason, Ms. Carter repeatedly texted Mr. Roy, encouraging him to go through with his suicidal plans. Eventually he did, and Carter was arrested and tried for manslaughter. Last month she was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. No matter whether the girlfriend was sick, evil, or just displayed bad judgement, the fact is that she did not kill Conrad Roy. In fact, she was miles away when he took his own life. Carter may belong in a mental hospital, but I can’t see how sending her to prison is justified. In any event, it was an unusual case and one wonders how it would have been adjudicated in another venue.

The other case that makes me scratch my head involves Jennifer Caswell, a 31-year-old teacher from Oklahoma. Ms. Caswell had consensual sex with her 15-year-old male student. The boy’s parents said that once the incident became public, their son was humiliated, so last week the judge sentenced Ms. Caswell to a minimum 10 years in prison, and ordered her to pay the boy $1 million dollars. No one condones what the teacher did, but she doesn’t deserve to be locked up for ten years, or have her wages garnished well into the next millennium. A more appropriate punishment would have been to give her a probationary sentence and ban her from taking any job in which she might come in contact with children.

The point is that we are in dire need of more concise laws which specify appropriate sentencing for all crimes, and which apply consistently to every locality in the nation. Until we get that, then going to court is a crap shoot. The question is, how much longer are we willing to accept the roll of the dice?
 
 

Over the past few years I’ve written several columns about Transgenderism, and I must confess that some of the nastiest emails I’ve ever received have come from Trans advocates who misunderstood my intent. In short, I have no problem with an 18-year-old transitioning to another gender, but I do have a problem with parents who encourage and enable that same transition in a small child.

It seems not a week goes by that we don’t hear about another publicity-seeking mother who brags about letting her 10-year-old boy wear dresses to school. In fact, these stories have become so commonplace that I’ve started to tune them out, that is until I heard about “Libby” Gonzales.

“Libby” has become the erstwhile poster child for those who oppose the controversial Texas bathroom bill. Similar to North Carolina’s HB2, the Texas bill professes to be about privacy rights and, if passed by both chambers, would prohibit Transgender persons from using public restrooms unless they use the facility that corresponds to their biological sex.

“Libby”, a biological boy, is only 7 years old, but her parents, Rachel and Frank, say that the child identified as a girl by age three. Rachel recalled the moment of truth for CNN. While visiting a toy store four years ago, Rachel said to her son, “You can pick out anything you want.” “Libby” selected a fairy costume with pink skirt and wings. Said “Libby” to her mom, “This is what I want.” From that point forward, Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales enabled their son’s alleged transgender tendencies.

Stories like those are a media staple these days, but what doesn’t get much attention are legitimate studies and experts who say that many parents are misguided, and are doing harm to their children by helping them transition too early. Dr. Paul McHugh, former psychiatrist in chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, told CNSNews.com that young children who act in conflict with their biological sex, suffer a mental “disorder of assumption.” McHugh also cites studies by Vanderbilt University and London’s Portman Clinic which found that 70% to 80% of children who express transgender feelings, “spontaneously lose those feelings” over time.

That view is echoed by Dr. Ken Zucker, head of the Gender Identity Service at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Dr. Zucker told the Globe & Mail’s Margaret Wente, “About three fourths of little kids who have issues with their gender – boys who want to be princesses, girls who want to throw their dresses in the garbage – will be comfortable with it by adolescence…or grow up to be gay or bi.” Says Wente, “That’s why Dr. Zucker takes a watch-and-wait approach, and even advises parents of princessy 6-year-olds to say, ‘You’re not a girl, you’re a boy.’” Unfortunately you won’t hear those words coming out of Rachel Gonzales’ mouth, or from most of the attention-seeking parents who love to trot their child out to the media at every opportunity. Why, then, are we hearing about so many transgender children? Dr. Alice Dreger, a bioethicist at Northwestern University’s school of medicine, and a staunch advocate for Transgender rights, told the Globe and Mail, “The pendulum has swung too far. Parents who encourage their kids to change gender are socially rewarded as wonderful and accepting, while parents who try to take it slow, are seen as unaccepting, lacking in affection, and conservative.”

I’m neither a doctor nor a parent, but I have been a little boy, and experience tells me that a child’s utterances and desires are mercurial in nature. One day Johnny wants to be a fireman, the next day a cowboy. One day Suzy wants to be a veterinarian, the next day she wants to be an astronaut. A good parent takes those imaginings with a grain of salt, and rolls with the punches. She doesn’t rush out and send her 7-year-old to flight school at NASA. In like manner, if a little girl wants to dress like a cowboy, the parent shouldn’t tell the child that she’s a boy.

Opponents of the Texas bathroom bill say that it will stigmatize transgender youth, and even put them in danger. But Dr. McHugh says the greater danger to gender dysphoric youth is for their parents to push them into a transgender lifestyle too soon. For example, McHugh cites a new study that shows the suicide rate among transgender youth who go on to have re-assignment surgery, is twenty times higher than the suicide rate among the non-transgender population.

In short, parents of children who show an interest in gender-conflicting activities and clothing, should just take a deep breath and cool it for a few more years. Says Dr. Dreger, “You get the sense that what we have is not so much a rational approach to a psychosocial issue, as a radical ideological experiment.” Perhaps the Globe & Mail’s Wente says it best, “Maybe we’re manufacturing more problems than we’re solving. If we really want to help people, we should remember the old rule: First, do no harm.
 
 

The Boy Scouts of America just can’t seem to catch a break. First they came under fire for allowing gay boys to join their ranks. Then they came under fire for allowing openly gay men to serve as Scout leaders. And just six months ago they came under fire for redefining boyhood to include transgender girls. Now BSA has come under fire for allowing Donald Trump to address their annual jamboree.

Before I go any further, I should disclose that my Dad was a Scout leader in the 1940’s and 1950’s, and I was a Boy Scout a decade later. Actually I was a Cub Scout, and after a few weeks as a Webelo, I dropped out because they didn’t award merit badges for playing baseball and kissing girls. It goes without saying that my late father’s Scouting career was much more distinguished than mine. In fact, after having served as one of Eisenhower’s regional campaign managers, Dad’s troop was invited up to D.C. for a V.I.P. tour of the White House and Capitol.

It is important to note that in the ’50s and ’60s, Boy Scouts looked up to and admired their elected representatives. Some even dreamed of becoming President one day. Two of them, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, achieved that dream. A lot has changed since then, but boys still want to be inspired by their President, and that brings me back to Mr. Trump, and his visit to the BSA jamboree which was held in West Virginia two weeks ago.

Instead of inspiring the Scouts with carefully chosen words of wisdom, Trump elected to bombard his young audience with a disjointed collection of incoherent, inaccurate, and inappropriate comments. He began by saying, “Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I’m in front of the Boy Scouts, right?” The President then proceeded to go on a political rant. Here’s a sampling:

“Do you remember that incredible night with the maps and the Republicans are red and Democrats are blue, and that map was so red, it was unbelievable, and they didn’t know what to say.”

“You know we had a tremendous advantage in the Electoral College, popular vote is much easier.”

“I went to Maine four times because it’s one vote, and we won. But we won, one vote. I went there because I kept hearing we’re at 269.”

“Then Wisconsin came in. Many, many years, Michigan came in.”

“What we did was an unbelievable tribute to you and all of the other millions of people that came out and voted for ‘Make America Great Again’.”

Aside from promising not to talk politics, then breaking that promise, most of what Trump said made no sense, especially to a group of boys who were not old enough to vote last November.

Trump also showed the Scouts his nasty side by saying, “By the way, did President Obama ever come to a jamboree?” He did, however, brag about the fact that ten of his Cabinet members were Scouts, and he talked about the importance of loyalty. But one of those former Scouts is Attorney General Jeff Sessions who the President had publicly berated only days before. So much for teaching the Boy Scouts about loyalty. Trump also mentioned Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price by name, but the reference meant little to those in attendance. Speaking of the Senators who were about to vote on repeal of Obamacare, Trump said, “He (Price) better get them. Oh, he better, otherwise I’ll say, ‘Tom, you’re fired’, and I’ll get somebody else.” Sadly, the only time President Trump came close to inspiring the Scouts, his statement left the captive audience scratching their heads. Said Trump, “Oh, you’re Boy Scouts, but you know life. You know life, so look at you.”

A few days later, after receiving numerous complaints about the President’s inappropriate remarks, BSA Chief Executive Michael Surbaugh issued a formal statement to Scouts and their parents. “I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. That was never our intent.”

Reacting to Surbaugh’s letter, Trump told the Wall Street Journal, “I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them, and they were very thankful.” That prompted BSA to issue an immediate denial, saying that they had no record of such a call, and that, “The Chief Scouting Executive’s message to the Scouting community speaks for itself.” A few days later, White House press spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders admitted that the call had never taken place. So much for teaching the Scouts to be trustworthy.

Donald Trump has a history of making insensitive and inappropriate comments, and he is prone to brag about his electoral victory to whoever will listen. That’s why the President’s remarks at the jamboree should not have come as a surprise to Mr. Surbaugh. In that regard, the BSA executive is as much responsible for what happened as is the man who caused the stir. Still, it was a coup for Surbaugh to land Trump for the event, and, in all fairness, many of the Scouts in attendance cheered the President during his non-political, political speech. In any case, the entire fiasco wouldn’t have happened if Donald Trump had embodied and embraced all of the characteristics required of a good Scout. Certainly the President is clean and thrifty, but he comes up short on being trustworthy, loyal, friendly, courteous, and kind.
 
 

I never knew Richard Dobbs Spaight personally, but I bet he resented George Mason. In 1787, Spaight, a native of New Bern, was one of North Carolina’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and one of only four delegates under the age of 30 who signed off on our great document. Old Mr. Mason signed too, but he was also responsible for setting age limits on candidates for federal office. Mason made sure that no one under 25 could serve in the House of Representatives, and that you had to be 30 and 35 to run for Senate and President respectively. According to John Seary, author of Too Young to Run, Mason had a simple argument for not lowering the age a few notches. The Virginia politician said he “had been an idiot at age 21, and figured most 21-year-olds were about the same.”

Spaight was 29 in 1787 and perhaps would have made a good President, but he just wasn’t old enough to run under the new rules. He did, however, run for high office later and, in 1792, became Governor of North Carolina. Still, it must have been difficult for him to listen to a bunch of old guys in Philadelphia disrespecting young people, and dictating the age at which they could vote or hold office. Now, 230 years later, another North Carolinian probably feels the same way.

Last month, Joe Schuler was told by the Guilford County Board of Elections that he was too young to run for a seat on Greensboro City Council. Schuler, a student at UNCG, is 19 years old, and the North Carolina Constitution bars anyone under 21 from holding a state office. Ever the optimist, Schuler told the Greensboro News & Record, “Hopefully, someday the laws will change.”

The laws have already changed in a number of states, where young people are running for and winning local races. This year, for example, Carl Nordman, age 19, is running for Mayor of Adel, Iowa. He is trying to unseat 26 year incumbent Jim Peters. His campaign is not unprecedented in the Hawkeye State. In 2011, 18-year-old Jeremy Minnier was elected Mayor of Aredale, Iowa. In 2010, 19-year-old Romaine Quinn became Mayor of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. In 2008, 19-year-old John Hammond, a freshman at the University of Oklahoma, bested the incumbent Mayor of Muskogee with 70% of the vote. In 2006, 18-year-old Kyle Corbin was elected Mayor of Union, Oregon. And, one year earlier, teenagers were elected Mayor in Linesville, Pennsylvania, Roland, Iowa, and Hillsdale, Michigan.

Despite the progress being made in some localities, wholesale change isn’t coming soon enough for author Seary, who writes, “In our country, 18-year-olds can buy cigarettes, donate organs, drive cars, fly airplanes, shoot guns, sign contracts, have consensual sex, get married, get divorced, have children, join the military, serve as jurors, and be tried in court as an adult. But for some reason they are branded too immature and too inexperienced to run for office.”

Seary was referring mainly to federal office, but his argument also rings true for young people who want to run for state and local offices.

A particular sticking point among older teens is that if they can be sent overseas to fight for our country at age 18, they should be able to hold any elected office at age 18. It’s a familiar argument which arose over voting rights five decades ago. In 1971, following a growing protest against the Viet Nam War and our mandatory military draft, Congress amended the 26^th Amendment to allow 18-year-olds to vote. Today there is a similar move afoot to lower the age for young people who want to hold a local, state, or federal office.

Like George Mason I also believe that a lot of young people are too immature and too inexperienced to represent themselves, much less thousands of their neighbors. But I also recognize that there are a growing number of exceptional men and women under the age of 21 who are wise beyond their years, and who have innovative ideas for how we should be governed. The problem is, even exceptional young leaders haven’t had enough life experience, or adult responsibilities, to give them a rounded perspective on how to go about serving and regulating others. Having said that, I also agree that anyone who is old enough to join the military is old enough to hold office. That’s why I propose that we raise the minimum age for military service to 21, and leave the North Carolina law as is.

My proposal won’t help Joe Schuler get elected any time soon, but it could save the lives of a lot of other Joe Schulers who might be allowed to grow up a little more before heading off to war, or to the Mayor’s office.
 
 

Like most senior citizens, I am set in my ways. I like to watch the same old TV shows over and over again. I like to wear the same old pair of jeans around the house. I identify more with Johnny Bench than Johnny Depp. And I won’t try any food that has “grain” in the name.

OK, so a few weeks ago I was leaving the Triad Today studio when my friend Steve Rehburg, an account executive at abc45, handed me a bag of something called “Gorilla Grains”. I trust Steve because, like me, his hair is turning gray, nevertheless I wasn’t about to sample a bag of grain just because he offered it.

“Try it,” he said. “My wife Alicia makes it.” I thanked him and walked away, intending to re-gift the Gorilla Grains to my wife Pam. As fate would have it, I got stuck in traffic on the way home, and the longer I was stuck, the hungrier I grew. In what can only be described as an act of desperation, I opened the convenient, resealable bag of Gorilla Grains, and poured a handful of the buttery sweet morsels into my mouth. It was the best thing I had ever tasted! In just a few short seconds, I had gone from being set in my ways, to being hooked on grain. As a journalist I was naturally intrigued to learn more about my new vice, so I contacted Alicia Rehburg to find out about her company, and how she came to invent Gorilla Grains.

Jim: How would you describe Gorilla Grains?
 
Alicia: It’s a small, batch-baked granola with a toasty, buttery taste, and light, delicate crunch. We use 100% organic oats and real butter.
 
Jim: What gave you the idea to try and create the perfect grains?
 
Alicia: My husband Steve was a chef by trade. Food had to taste good to him, so he was not on board with any granola snacks that I made for our children. In fact, I had him sample granola from far and wide, and he said the bag they came in tasted better than the granola. I was convinced that there had to be a better way to make granola that would be tasty to discerning palates like Steve’s. I also believed there had to be a way to make a healthier snack than the things people stash in their desks at work.
 
Jim: So how long did it take you to come up with the right formula?
 
Alicia: For fourteen years I tried out variations of the recipe on Steve. The poor guy endured things no one should have to [laughs]. Remember, this is someone who would rather go hungry, than eat foods that don’t taste good.
 
Jim: Once you hit on the right formula, how did you envision Gorilla Grains being used?
 
Alicia: Customers tell me they like to put it on top of their Greek yogurt. Others take it to work for a snack right out of the bag. In fact, I hear that a lot of moms put a bag of Gorilla Grains in their kids’ backpack for school. Our favorite way to eat it is in a parfait with Greek yogurt, layered with Gorilla Grains and frozen, mixed berries, topped off with a sprinkling of salted mixed nuts. Steve says it’s a symphony in your mouth!
 
Jim: You talk about Steve a lot. How did the two of you meet?
 
Alicia: We met outside of his television station. I went there on a Saturday morning to volunteer to answer telephones for a crisis call line. He was there to let volunteers in the building, then he would go back to his office and drink coffee and read the newspaper. After he let me in, he never made it back to his office [laughs].

That chance encounter led Alicia and Steve to the altar, and later produced four children. Today, the couple and their youngest daughter live in Graham, and Alicia’s company is growing by leaps and bounds. Gorilla Grains is garnering rave reviews, and was a finalist in the first annual Big Tasty contest held in Asheville, winning Alicia an opportunity to study at Rutgers University’s Food Innovation Center.

Jim: How did the Rutgers experience help you, and what are your goals for the company now?
 
Alicia: The wealth of knowledge I gained there established our direction for future growth, which is to market Gorilla Grains as a premium food product, and make it available to the public through fine retail stores, as well as through online sales (at GorillaGrains.com).

As for me, I’m still set in my ways. I still watch the same old TV shows, and wear the same old pair of jeans. But my outlook on eating grains has changed, thanks to a lady in Graham, her guinea pig husband, and a bag with a gorilla on it.
 
 

I know this sounds silly, but I’ve come to believe that Richard Petty is the real-life Peter Pan. Throughout his career, Richard flew around tracks with ease. Kids of all ages followed him wherever he went. And, most importantly, he never grew old.

I first met the NASCAR King in 1979, and last month when we taped an interview for Triad Today, I realized that nothing had changed in all that time. He still takes flight, although now it’s in a jet. Kids of all ages still follow him around. And, he looks the same as he did 38 years ago. That’s why it’s difficult for me to believe that RP is 80 years old. Nevertheless, in honor of his birthday and of his groundbreaking career (which included 200 wins and seven championships), Triad Today will salute the ageless wonder in a special program this weekend. The half-hour tribute features an exclusive, in-depth interview with the King, as well as the first-ever joint appearance of Richard with his racing grandson Thad Moffitt, and Thad’s mom Rebecca Petty Moffitt. I began the show by asking Richard to recall the first time he got behind a wheel as a little boy.

Petty: The first time I ever remember driving at all was down on my uncle’s farm. He was getting up hay one day, and he had this old ’38 Ford flatbed truck, and they was throwing hay on the back of it. They put the truck in granny gear, and pulled out the throttle so it sort of crept along. They put me up there and I was standing in the seat, just holding the wheel straight ’till they got to the end of the road. Then they jumped in and turned it around, and I came back. And that was the first time I drove a truck.

Longworth: Did that upset your momma when she found out?

Petty: Well they didn’t tell her I don’t think (laughs). They got the field cleaned up, that was the main thing.

Longworth: Did your daddy encourage you to follow in his footsteps and become a race car driver?

Petty: I don’t think we ever had that conversation. When I was 18 I said, “Can I drive a race car?”. And he said, “Come back when you’re 21. You’re going to grow up a lot between now and the time you turn 21.” So I just kept working on his race car, and he was winning races and championships, and then one day, right before I turned 21, I said, “OK, I’m turning 21.” And he said, “There’s a car over there in the corner. Get it ready to go.” And off we went to Columbia, South Carolina.

Longworth: In 1959 you were running at a track in Georgia, and you thought you had your first victory until you heard someone say something.

Petty: They flagged me the winner and flagged my dad second. I was in a ’57 Oldsmobile convertible, and he was in a ’59 Oldsmobile. I hadn’t been racing but about six months, so I was tickled to death to win. Then they told me someone was protesting the race. Come to find out it was my dad protesting. Sure enough when they checked the cards, they had left him out of a lap. Back then if you had a new car, there was a $500 bonus. I had a 1957, Dad had a ’59, so our company made $500 more when HE won than if I had won.

Longworth: Your daddy was pretty smart.

Petty: Yeah, he was pretty good, and Mother was standing right there taking the check, you know what I mean? (laughs)

Longworth: On a race day did you always have fun, or was it more like a job?

Petty: It was fun. Driving a race car was a hobby. We had done all the work on it during the week, and I had done everything that I had done back when I was a mechanic, except when it was time for the race, they put me in the car, and away I went. So you work all week to be able to do your hobby, like you work all week so you can go play golf on Sunday. I worked all week so I could go racing on Sunday. That was the fun part.

Longworth: You had a lot of scary crashes. When you would get back in the saddle for the first race after a crash, were you ever a little bit afraid?

Petty: No. You was just that much more determined to overcome the problems you had before. I’ve never been afraid of a race car. Things happen so fast that you don’t have time to be scared. And when it’s over with, there’s no need of being scared.

Longworth: You always stayed around after each race to sign autographs, whether you finished first or tenth. Why did you do that when other drivers wouldn’t?

Petty: I look at it from the standpoint that the fans are the ones that’s paying me. The fans had to buy the tickets so the promoter would have money to pay us. So every time I would sign “Richard Petty”, I would say “Thank you for being a race fan”. I didn’t care if you were a Richard Petty fan or not. As long as you bought a ticket, then I would say, “Thank you.”

Longworth: You’re 80 years old now. What if the phone rang and they said, “Richard we have a problem and we need you to drive this Sunday.” Could you still race?

Petty: I’d try (laughs). I don’t think I’d tell ’em “No”. I think I’d go try.

Spoken like a good old boy who never grows old.

The complete interview with Richard, plus information about his family Foundation, the Petty Museum, Petty’s Garage, and Victory Junction Camp, can be seen this Saturday at 7:30am on abc45, and Sunday at 11:00am on MY48. Audio of the program will also be broadcast Saturday at 11:30am on 600AM WSJS.

There was a headline in last week’s newspapers that caught my attention. It read, “Middle Class Wage Crisis Worse in North Carolina.” The story, written by Associated Press correspondent Emery Dalesio, highlighted findings by NC State University economist Michael Walden, in which he concluded that the collapse of middle class jobs in this century was worse in North Carolina than in the rest of the country. According to professor Walden, middle class jobs rose by 6% nationwide between 2001 and 2015, but fell by 5% here in the State. Communities that have lost textile jobs in large numbers accounted for much of our decline, and Winston-Salem was particularly singled out as having suffered from depressed wages.

Dalesio also referenced findings by UNC’s Maureen Berner, who added that the decline in middle class jobs and wages led to a “double-digit growth in the need for food distributed by non-profit organizations.” Her conclusion didn’t come as a surprise to me. Clyde Fitzgerald, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, had warned of this trend on many occasions over the past few years when appearing on my Triad Today television program. He spoke of the high rate of childhood hunger in the Triad, and of the challenges in keeping food bank shelves filled, and financial donations flowing.

What makes all of this bad news especially hard to swallow is that while many North Carolina families are still struggling to make ends meet, the income of wealthy people continues to rise at an obscene rate. In fact, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Senator Bernie Sanders have been railing against income inequality for years, even before the recession of 2008. So, just how bad is the disparity? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1982, the average CEO pay was 42 times greater than that of his average worker, but by 2012, the Institute for Policy Studies estimated that the ratio had reached 364 to 1. And while I will never defend greedy corporations who overpay their CEOs to the detriment of their employees, at least those executives work in the private sector. Not so with another elite group of “one percenters”.

If you really want to get steamed about stagnant wages, then just take a moment to examine what today’s college coaches earn each year. For example, Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzysewski makes $9.6 million per year, and Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is paid about the same. Alabama football coach Nick Saban earns over $7 million annually, while Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher and Louisville’s Rick Pitino take home around $6 million each. But the pay rates and raises are also staggering for lesser known coaches in minor sports. According to a Washington Post story by Will Hobson from March of this year, the University of Virginia’s head women’s volleyball coach has seen her pay increase from $94,000 to $221,000 over the past ten years. Meanwhile the salary of West Virginia University men’s soccer coach rose from $66,000 to $188,000 per year, and Kentucky’s track and field coach went from earning $108,000 in 2006 to $429,000 last year. That’s a 298% pay raise! Not angry yet? Then consider that during that same period, the median pay for the average American worker rose by less than 1%.

The pay disparity at our nation’s colleges must also anger the men and women who have devoted their lives to providing academic instruction to students. According to the American Association of University Professors, the average salary of a full professor is $113,000 per year, while most instructors are lucky to be making half that amount. Even worse, their raises are few and far between, and when state legislators do approve a pay hike, it’s usually less than 5%. That’s a far cry from the coach who received a 298% pay raise.

So there you have it. Private sector CEOs make nearly 400 times the salary of the workers they haven’t yet laid off, while a growing number of college coaches earn anywhere from two times to 40 times more than the teachers who make it possible for those coaches to have a place to work. Pundits and politicians have suggested that higher taxes on the rich, and salary caps on coaches would make our lot in life easier. But the fact is, neither of those solutions would translate to more middle class jobs and higher wages for workers. That might only happen if President Trump makes good on one of his campaign promises: to incentivize companies who bring their factories and jobs back to America from overseas.

Until then, those of us in the dwindling middle class can either make do with what we have, or else try and get hired as a CEO or college coach. Excuse me while I dust off my resume.

This week we celebrate our 241st anniversary of independence from Great Britain. A few weeks earlier, we celebrated Memorial Day, where we honored men and women who had made the ultimate sacrifice. I’m as patriotic as the next guy, but over the years I have come to dread these holidays, and I can explain my disdain in one word: Fireworks.

Despite what we see in old movies, war is not glamorous. It is not glorious, and it is almost never necessary. And so there’s a morbid kind of irony about the fact that we honor those who died in war, by firing off a barrage of mortars and rockets designed to recreate the violent sounds of war.

In my neck of the woods, fireworks are shot off by neighbors in their back yards, and by so-called professionals who are hired by the city to punctuate community gatherings. During our a previous Independence Day fete, the combination of private and municipal rocket fire caused the windows of our house to vibrate so severely that they nearly shattered. Moreover, the constant barrage of scud-like missile activity also caused our dogs to shake uncontrollably, and become so upset that they suffered with GI difficulties for two weeks. Meanwhile, the noise disrupted bed rest at area nursing homes and retirement complexes, and wildlife fled from their limited wooded habitats, and ran nervously into on-going traffic, where at least one deer met his doom. These are all too common scenarios across the country, and are of particular interest to Chapel Hill-based Noise Free America.

NFA acts as a clearinghouse for noise complaints, and as an advocate for a ban on fireworks altogether. In a 2014 email exchange with NFA Director Ted Rueter, I learned that noise wasn’t the only problem resulting from our annual Independence Day fireworks displays. Serious injuries and deaths also occurred. Those included three small children and an infant who died in a Philadelphia house fire, which had started when a firecracker was thrown onto a sofa on their front porch. The fire also spread to several other row houses. And then there was the man from Michigan who lit some fireworks which then flew back into his chest, killing him. Ted also mentioned another man who blew his arm off while using fireworks. Meanwhile, KIRO-TV in Seattle reported that in just a few short hours, one local hospital treated 35 people with fireworks-related injuries. Said Rueter, “This past 4th of July turned out to be a deadly and very disruptive holiday”.

Unfortunately, fireworks related tragedies are not a recent phenomena. The National Fire Protection Association reports that

in 2011, nearly 18,000 fires were caused by fireworks. Those included 1,200 total structure fires, 400 vehicle fires, and 16,000 other fires.

That year, fireworks caused over $32 million dollars in property damage, and at least eight people died. Not surprisingly, more fires are reported on the 4th of July than on any other day of the year, and fireworks account for two out of every five of those fires.

According to the Insurance Journal, in 2016, hospital emergency departments treated nearly 11,000 people for fireworks related injuries, including 31% who were children under the age of 15. Meanwhile the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that there have been 114 deaths related to fireworks since 2001

And, as if we didn’t have enough to worry about, now there’s a new kind of danger involving fireworks. Forbes and other news outlets report a rise in people flying their drones in the airspace just above fireworks displays. When rockets collide with drones, the latter can cause the former to detonate off target, and can force hazardous debris down onto unsuspecting spectators.

In addition to producing noise and causing fires and injuries, fireworks are also increasingly causing environmental damage. Studies by the EPA show that chemical residue from fireworks is polluting lakes, ponds, and even contaminating ground water. That, in turn, negatively impacts on the health of humans and wildlife alike.

Some states have enacted laws which restrict use and composition of fireworks. In California, for example, fireworks devices cannot leave the ground. In North Carolina, aerial fireworks are illegal except by permit. Meanwhile, seven other states have banned all consumer fireworks. But those bans don’t go far enough, because they do nothing to restrict commercial use of fireworks. Yes, I’ve heard the argument that “professionals” know how to handle fireworks, and most of them do. But that’s not the point.

According to Science Daily, the South Coast Air Quality Management agency solicited testimony which showed that chemicals from nightly fireworks displays at Disneyland, had polluted underground water to the extent that six local wells adjacent to the park had to be shut down, and residents forced to drink bottled water. Science Daily also reported that children with asthma had more frequent attacks because of smoke generated from Disney’s fireworks displays.

I doubt anyone is more competent with recreational explosives than the pyrotechnic wizards who set off fireworks at Disneyland, Disney World, and other parks across the nation. But that doesn’t rectify or prevent noise, air, and water pollution. That’s why commercial as well as consumer fireworks displays should be banned in every state, with the caveat that localities can issue special permits for venues that aren’t near a residential area, don’t border on a body of water, and where technicians use non hazardous materials.

The fact is there’s nothing particularly patriotic or even appropriate about shooting off fireworks in celebration of Independence Day, Veterans Day, or Memorial Day. Surely we don’t need to be bombarded with the sounds of war when pausing to recognize our freedoms or our veterans. A simple parade, display of American flags, a brass band, and some small sparklers are more than adequate to present a safer, quieter commemoration. I just can’t imagine that anyone who died in battle would feel good about the injury, death, and damage caused by fireworks on his behalf. That kind of senseless loss serves only to dishonor those we seek to honor.

We all know that there’s a lot of hype in advertising, but most ads contain at least some modicum of truth. For example, a car that’s advertised as getting better gas mileage, usually does. A pain reliever that’s advertised as having extra strength, usually has it. And, toilet paper that’s advertised as being new and improved, usually is. So, last week when Senate Republicans finally released their secretive healthcare reform package, and advertised it as the “Better Care Reconciliation Act”, I assumed that it would offer “better care” than either Obama’s ACA, or Paul Ryan’s AHCA. As it turns out, though, the name “Better Care Act”, really just means it’s “Better than Nothing.”

After listening to Senator Mitch McConnell announce highlights of the BCRA, I went online and read through the 142-page bill, only to find that it is just as bad as the House version. The first indication of that was on page 5, in a section titled “Applicable Median Cost Benchmark Plan.” Section (B)ii provides for a health plan that “has a premium which is the median premium of all qualified health plans…which are offered in the individual market.” The problem is that BCRA doesn’t impose caps on premiums, deductibles, or co-pays, nor does it enact a federal requirement for insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. Thus, that particular section seems moot because a median premium could end up being the median of unaffordable plans to begin with.

Perhaps the most cruel provision of BCRA, though, is tucked away on page 134. Section 204 covers “Change in Permissible Age Variation in Health Insurance Premium Rates”, and maintains the same “Age Tax” imposed by Ryan’s plan. Specifically, BCRA allows insurance companies to charge older persons (ages 50 to 64) five times the monthly premium as a younger person. That means a 49-year-old man who pays $500 per month in premiums, might pay $2,500 per month one year later, even if there’s no change in his health. In a statement released on June 22, AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said, “The Senate bill would hit millions of Americans with higher costs and result in less coverage for them. AARP is adamantly opposed to the Age Tax, which would allow insurance companies to charge older Americans five times more for coverage than everyone else, while reducing tax credits that help make insurance more affordable.”

Ms. LeaMond also criticized the Republican-led Senate for proffering a bill that “cuts Medicaid funding that would strip health coverage from millions of low-income and vulnerable Americans who depend on the coverage, including 17 million poor seniors, and children and adults with disabilities…the Senate bill also cuts funding for Medicare, which weakens the programs ability to pay benefits, and leaves the door wide open to benefit cuts and Medicare vouchers.”

Former President Obama is also critical of the BCRA, writing on Facebook that “…it’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America.” Obama continued, “Those with private insurance will experience higher premiums and higher deductibles, with lower tax credits to help working families cover the costs…and millions of families could lose coverage entirely.”

As of this writing, not a single Senate Democrat plans to vote for BCRA, which means McConnell can only afford to lose the support of two fellow Republicans. But already, at least four GOP Senators have indicated they won’t vote for the plan. If those numbers hold, then the American people will be stuck with a failing Obamacare system from which insurance companies continue to flee. Under that scenario, it is possible that Congress would eventually have to consider the one healthcare reform they fear the most: Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” plan.

Sanders proposed his plan during the 2016 campaign, and engaged reputable economists to devise a way to pay for it without overtaxing the average American. Critics on both the left and the right say Bernie’s plan amounts to socialized medicine. But I don’t hear any of those folks complaining about taxpayer-supported schools, police, or military. If we have a right to free police protection, we should also have a right to free medical care. We shouldn’t have to live under the threat of bankruptcy in the event of a catastrophic illness, or become seriously ill because we can’t afford the medical care that we need.

Insurance companies pump millions of dollars into lobbying and campaign contributions each year. Eliminate them and you’ll eliminate the reason that many legislators are afraid of voting for substantive healthcare reform. In the meantime, we’re stuck with trying to replace one flawed healthcare system with another. Take my word for it, unlike toilet paper, there’s nothing new and improved about BCRA. I am, however, tempted to use one for getting rid of the other.
 
 

By now we all know the story about a friendly gathering of politicians that turned violent. Suddenly, without warning, shots rang out, and a member of Congress lay wounded on the ground. Days later, elected officials boasted about a new spirit of bi-partisan unity that would grow out of the attack. This wasn’t last week in Alexandria, Virginia. It was six years ago in Tuscon, Arizona.

On that day, Representative Gabby Giffords was gunned down while attending a constituants meeting in a shopping center parking lot. The shooter also killed a federal judge and wounded several other people who were in attendance. Ms. Giffords, a pro-gun control Democrat, survived the assassination attempt, and her high-profile rehabilitation was expected to inspire bi-partisan cooperation on Capitol Hill, especially when it came time to vote on gun reform. But Congress has an historically short attention span, and an even shorter memory. Even though one of their own was nearly murdered by a nut with a gun, not a single piece of legislation was passed to curtail the sale or use of guns.

It has been a week since Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise and his Republican colleagues were attacked while practicing for their annual Congressional baseball game. Scalise is still in critical condition, and several others are still recovering from their wounds. The baseball game went off as scheduled, and it turned into a love fest between the two political parties. A commentator for FOX News noted that, “Republicans and Democrats are coming together to wear LSU caps in honor of Scalise.” And, though Dems won the contest, they awarded the trophy to the GOP so it could go on display in Scalise’s office. What wonderful gestures! But if 2011 is any indication, those gestures will prove to be hollow. Soon, things will be back to normal, and the two parties will battle each other to a standstill over healthcare, taxes, immigration, and Russia. And, oh yes, don’t look for any substantive gun reform legislation either. Sadly, that’s just the way things are in Washington. Old habits die hard. Gun victims die much easier. The fact is that D.C. politicians are better at pointing fingers than they are at solving problems. Perhaps we all are.

Anytime there’s a mass shooting, folks from all walks of life are quick to blame other folks from all walks of life. First and foremost, of course, the shooter is to blame for pulling the trigger, but the media loves to analyze what motivates such killers. In the case of last week’s baseball field incident, the perpetrator, James Hodgkinson, was a liberal extremist and Bernie Sanders supporter who hated Donald Trump, and wanted to assassinate Republicans. So naturally, the news media sought out Senator Sanders for an official statement, as if he was somehow responsible for Hodgkinson’s behavior. They did much the same thing in 2011.

Just prior to the Tuscon shooting, Republican darling Sarah Palin urged her followers to “target” Democrats, especially Rep. Giffords. Palin’s website even featured the image of a rifle scope with crosshairs. Immediately following the attack on Giffords, Democrats and the media blamed Palin for inciting violence. Even today, Palin is still having to defend those political ads, and deny that there was any intent to harm Giffords.

Though they are polar opposites, politicians like Sanders and Palin strike a nerve with their followers. The question is, can political rhetoric cause or lead to violence? GOP Congressman Mark Sanford believes so. Last week in an interview with MSNBC, he reminded viewers that during the 2016 campaign, candidate Donald Trump once told a rally that he’d like to punch a protestor in the nose, and would pay the legal bills of anyone who did so. The suggestion is that Trump’s bluster eventually led Mr. Hodgkinson to spray fifty bullets at defenseless Republican Congressmen. But vitriol hasn’t been the sole property of conservatives like Donald Trump. Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters once referred to Republicans as “scumbags”, while other members of her Party call for impeachment on a daily basis, suggesting that Trump and his Cabinet are corrupt traitors.

Speaking of liberals, Democrat-leaning entertainers are also being blamed for last week’s violence. Comedian Kathy Griffin recently held up a fake severed head of Trump, covered in blood. Madonna told thousands of women that she had thought about “blowing up the White House.” Snoop Dog produced a music video in which he pretends to shoot a Trump look-a-like. And just last week in New York City, a theatre production of Julius Caesar portrayed the famed emperor as Donald Trump, so that the brutal assassination scene would send some kind of sick message to the audience.

Following the Giffords incident in Arizona, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik spoke with the New York Times about the political climate in America, as a factor in politically motivated shootings. Said Dupnik, “When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government…The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.” Perhaps Sheriff Dupnik didn’t realize how prophetic his words were. What should be peaceful town hall meetings have turned into shouting matches and worse. It’s gotten so bad that a number of Congressmen have stopped holding town halls altogether. Meanwhile, a growing number of other members now refuse to wear their Congressional lapel pin for fear of being targeted, and Rep. Chris Collins said he’s going to start carrying a gun. The fact is that we’re all partially to blame for the divisions in our country, and that’s why we need to choose our words more carefully. We also need to elect real leaders who will stop fighting among themselves, and start fighting for changes that will improve quality of life for all Americans.

Six years ago, the only concession Congress made in honor of Gabby Giffords was agreeing for both parties to sit together at the 2011 State of the Union Address. Six years later, Congress has agreed for a baseball trophy to sit on Steve Scalise’s desk. Here’s hoping they agree to set an example of civility, tone down the rhetoric, and work together to pass meaningful legislation. It’s time for Congress to really play ball with each other.
 
 

If you stick around in Washington long enough, you build up seniority and get to chair committees, providing that your political party is in power. That’s what has happened to Senator Richard Burr. Burr was first elected to Congress from the 5^th District in 1995, then moved to the upper chamber in 2005. For most of that time he has remained largely invisible to his constituents and to the mainstream media, but all that changed recently when he began to preside over a series of hearings conducted by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Thanks to Comey, Flynn, and the Russians, Richard Burr is now one of the most visible politicians in the nation. TV news anchors, pundits, newspaper editors, and even leading Democrats are now heaping praise on Burr for his fair-minded handling of these high-profile soap operas. And so, the senior senator from North Carolina has suddenly become America’s poster boy for bi-partisanship. The problem is that his newfound fans have a short memory.

Burr has consistently voted in lockstep with his fellow Republicans on every major issue. In doing so, he has received a fortune in donations from industries whose products and services have brought hardship to millions. He has voted against tax cuts for the middle class while supporting tax cuts for his industry donors. He opposed employment opportunities for veterans, supported the privatization of Medicare, and has voted to confirm every Trump cabinet nominee. And, he has enriched himself while those he serves have seen their incomes drop or remain stagnant.

In addition to chairing the Intelligence Committee, Burr also sits on several other powerful committees, including one which has oversight of the FDA, Medicare, and Medicaid. But instead of using his position to help people, he has voted with the interests of the industries he should be helping to regulate. Reporting for STATnews.com, Sheila Kaplan points out that some 200 companies located near Burr’s hometown are in the business of developing or manufacturing drugs and medical devices. It should come as no surprise, then, that these companies gave Richard over a million dollars for his last re-election campaign. In return, Kaplan says that Burr has pressed for lower taxes on Big Pharma.

Meanwhile, Richard has also received big bucks from the insurance industry, and in return, has opposed the Affordable Care Act, voted to privatize Medicare, and refused to come down on Blue Cross for price-gouging. As a result of his partisan votes and positions on these matters, millions of people can’t afford the costly drugs they need, won’t seek proper medical attention, and can’t pay their rising healthcare premiums.

Speaking of partisanship that harms people, Burr has refused to support even the most basic, common-sense gun reforms. Rob Schofield of The Progressive Pulse, reported that in 2016, Burr voted against a bill that would have required universal background checks, and limit sales of guns to known terrorists. Why? According to Becky Ceartas, director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, Burr’s votes were a quid pro quo for the 800 thousand dollars he received from the NRA. Said Ceartas, “Burr chose not to put safety of our families first, pushing that aside to demonstrate (his) loyalty to the gun lobby.”

Back in 2003, partisan Burr supported President Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and once he knew that we had invaded the wrong country, did nothing to advocate for withdrawal. The result was the death of over a million innocent Iraqi civilians and thousands of American troops. To add insult to injury, the veterans who returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan faced an unemployment level of nearly 11%, yet according to a report by Jon Erickson of WCTI-TV, Burr voted against a bill that would have created a job corps meant to employ veterans as firefighters and police officers.

And if all that isn’t partisan and self-serving enough for you, consider Burr’s vote on a bill called the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act, better known as the STOCK Act. The bill would have prohibited members of Congress from trading on and profiting from insider knowledge of the stock market. Sean Galitz of CBS.com reported that the STOCK Act was the result of a “60 Minutes” investigation which “exposed how members of Congress and staff legally traded stocks based on non-public information that they had exclusive access to.” Richard Burr voted against the bill. Why? Galitz suggests it was because Burr held stock in a number of companies who were “lobbying for several energy and regulatory bills that he co-sponsored”, and that those companies had donated nearly a half-million dollars to Burr’s campaign. Burr’s vote was also suspicious because of his increase in wealth since coming to D.C. According to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Burr’s net worth in 1994 was $189,000. By 2014 it was over $2.6 million. That’s an increase in net worth of 500% during a period of time when, according to Ballotpedia.org, the average American household net worth increased by less than one percent.

All of this makes Burr’s recent fame as a bi-partisan leader just a bit hard to take, especially for anyone who has been negatively impacted by his numerous quid pro quo votes over the years. Yet Richard seems to be wearing his newfound mantle well. In fact, he looks downright relaxed and statesmanlike with a gavel in his hand. The reason? Last year Burr announced that he would be leaving the Senate after his current term expires. No longer is he worried about raising money, trading on insider information, or answering to lobbyists and industries who have scratched his back. He’s made his millions and when he steps down, those of us whose interests he voted against, will pay him a full pension with benefits.

Believe it or not, I remember a time when elected officials of both parties acted like statesmen from their first day on the job, and never compromised their ethics or their votes for political or personal gain. They were individuals who arrived in D.C. with very little wealth and no agenda, and they left the same way. Richard Burr is finally coming into his own as a statesman, but it’s only because he’s a lame duck who’s already come into everything else.