Triad Today

Like most folks, I have suffered personal loss. I lost my parents many years ago, and I lost a number of very close friends who left us way too soon. But I’ve never been a parent, so there is no way I can possibly know what it is to lose a child. I can, however, sympathize and empathize with grieving parents, especially when they had no control over the fate of their child. Parents can’t predict that their child will be killed by a drunk driver. Parents can’t prevent a child from getting terminal cancer. Parents can’t stop a drive-by shooting or have x-ray vision to know that candy has been laced with a toxic substance. And parents can’t always know the extent of their child’s mental state or proclivity for committing suicide. Yes, there are signs to look for when a child is emotionally disturbed, such as certain changes in personal habits and behaviors, but parents are often not aware of the triggers that lead their child to take his own life. And that brings me to last week’s Congressional hearing, and the problem of and with social media.

On January 31, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee convened a hearing in which the chief executives of five tech companies were called to testify and be questioned about the dangers of social media on children, particularly teenagers. Appearing were Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Discord CEO Jason Citron, and X CEO Linda Yaccarino. In the gallery sat parents holding up photos of their children who had committed suicide after being affected by content on and messaging through various social media platforms.

The hearing was ostensibly scheduled to address child sexual exploitation facilitated by those online platforms. But it also brought into focus the growing number of teen suicides that parents and politicians blame solely on social media, and which Louisiana Senator John Kennedy referred to as “killing fields of information.” Said Kennedy to the five CEOs, “You have convinced over 2 billion people to give up all of their personal information in exchange for getting to see what their high school friends had for dinner Saturday night.”

Trusting teens who do give up their personal information put themselves at risk for any number of traumatic outcomes including everything from blackmail over nude photos to agreeing to meet a pedophile who they thought was someone their own age. Social media has also been blamed for facilitating cyber bullying which has led many young teens to take their own life. It’s no wonder that Senator Josh Hawley asked if any of the CEOs would like to publicly apologize to the parents in attendance. Zuckerberg stood up, faced the parents, and expressed his regret for the lives lost.

Emotions ran high in the hearing room and for once, both political parties seemed to walk in lockstep, showing compassion for parents and contempt for the CEOs. But as with most all other televised Congressional hearings, this one was for show. It was a chance for senators to simultaneously express sympathy for “victims” of social media, and outrage over the greed of those whose companies profit from social media.

The question is, will anything positive come from the hearing? Sadly, it’s not likely. Similar hearings about school massacres have yielded no substantive gun reforms. For years now I and a handful of elected officials have called for the FCC to regulate social media platforms but to no avail. That’s because Congress is famous for grandstanding then doing nothing. The good news is that in the absence of Congressional action, there is a simple solution for weakening social media’s hold on children and teens. It’s called parental vigilance.

Last year NPR reported that the American Psychological Association recommended parents should closely monitor their children’s social media feed, especially during early adolescence. The APA also said parents should “stop dangerous content that their child is exposed to.” But with apologies to the APA, there are bolder steps parents can take to protect their child. For one, they can issue their kids old-fashioned jitterbug type phones, which do not allow access to the internet. For another, they can block social media sites on their child’s home computer or laptop. These are easy steps to take which merely require parents to be assertive (and protective). That’s why I am a bit frustrated with parents who showed up at last week’s hearing and placed all of the blame on social media for the death of their children. Social media is a tool, but it’s also a weapon the same as a gun. A parent who would never keep a loaded gun in the house has no problem arming their child with smartphones and the ability to access social media and download all sorts of apps.

Predators, blackmailers, and con men will always be with us, but they can’t ply their trade if their intended prey is unreachable. Until such time as tech companies and technology can fully protect kids, then limiting access is a parent’s best defense against the dangers of social media.

 
 

America used to be the envy of the world because of our unwavering commitment to the ideals and practice of democracy. We used to be able to boast that ours is truly a representative form of government. But that boast is no longer credible. That’s because, over the past 20 years, the two-party system has fomented and overseen an unparalleled level of voter suppression.

On the national level, both the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have been guilty of skullduggery, especially when it comes to dictating the rules involving Presidential primaries. In 2016, Hillary Clinton was so threatened by the popularity of Bernie Sanders that she stood by as her buddy, DNC Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz, conspired to damage Sanders’ candidacy at every turn.

Leaked emails showed, for example, that the DNC planned to use Bernie’s religion against him in the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries. Schultz also kept in place the Super Delegate system, which Sanders opposed because party hacks could commit to Clinton early on and run up the delegate count.

The RNC is also not above dirty politics either. Just last week it was revealed that the committee secretly drafted a resolution declaring Donald Trump the presumptive nominee after just one primary had occurred. The resolution was withdrawn after it became public knowledge. Meanwhile, the GOP has protected and sustained its own winner-take-all primary system in 20 key states. That makes for a less competitive field and often knocks legitimate challengers out of the race early.

Then there’s the problem of closed primaries. In states with a closed primary, registered Republicans can only vote in the Republican primary, and the same with registered Democrats. In those states, even folks registered as “unaffiliated” aren’t allowed to participate. According to a Lee Enterprises poll, in 2022 among nine states with closed or partially closed Congressional primaries, two in five registered voters in districts where there was a contested race, were barred from casting a ballot. In fact, people were not allowed to choose their own representative in one of every three Congressional districts.

Jeremy Gruber, an attorney for the group Open Primaries which is lobbying to require every state to hold open primaries, told Lee Newspapers, “We’ve allowed the two major political parties to control the process that our tax dollars pay for, and it’s perverted our democracy in all kinds of ways.”

States whose legislatures are controlled by Republicans are especially guilty of perverting our democracy as they seek to suppress the votes of Democrats in general and those in urban areas in particular. Nowhere is that truer than here in North Carolina where the GOP’s most recently drawn gerrymandered Congressional district maps are disenfranchising millions of voters from choosing their own representative.

Here, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans, yet in this year’s election, the GOP map will most likely produce a Congressional delegation comprised of 11 Republicans and three Democrats, instead of our current seven and seven. One casualty of gerrymandering is veteran Democratic Congressperson Kathy Manning who decided not to seek re-election after studying the new district boundaries. The 6th district now heavily favors Republican candidates, which is why whoever wins the six-person primary on March 5 will, by default, become our new “representative,” and I use the term loosely.

If we are ever to restore our once great Democratic form of government, then three things have to happen. First, Congress (or the Courts) must require that every state hold open primaries. Second, all primaries must allocate delegates to every candidate according to the votes cast. And third, each state must be required to have in place a truly bi-partisan committee to create Congressional districts that reflect the population. Otherwise for many of us, the concept of “one man, one vote,” is just that — a concept, and not a reality.

 
 

I have nothing against dancing. In fact, once in junior high my partner and I won a waltz contest. And like most red-blooded American boys of that era, I thought there was something rather sensual about Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth pressing the flesh with Fred Astaire. Hell, I was even rooting for Maria and Captain Von Trapp to make out while doing the Laendler. On-screen or in real life, dancing is a beautiful expression of friendship and love, and an outlet for fun. It’s what most toddlers do the first time they hear snappy music, and as we get older, we dance at wedding receptions, parties, and nightclubs. Dancing is in our blood. That’s why Dancing With the Stars is one of the most popular programs on television. My beef isn’t with dancing, it’s with the plethora of corny TV commercials that have come to rely on dancing to sell products that have nothing to do with dancing.   

Truth is, dancing has been used in TV advertisements since the 1950s, but it has become overused since the early part of this century. Today people appearing in TV ads seem to break into dance moves at the drop of a hat, regardless of the product they are hawking.

Beverage ads are among the biggest offenders. A girl drinking Sun Drop cola dances from scene to scene, interrupting people who are doing yoga on the beach. A guy opens a bottle of Coca-Cola in a convenience store and starts dancing to other locations, including into someone’s bedroom where kids are playing video games, and on a rooftop where some guys are watching a soccer match. A young man is put on hold, so while waiting to be connected, he and his wife start dancing because they like Bud Light. Guys in a barber shop get up and start dancing in the street, then dance over to a laundromat, then suddenly they are at the beach. The reason? Because Bicardi “Moves you.” A flash mob gathers in a hotel lobby where they spontaneously break into a rip-off of “Thriller”… Why? Because they all drink Lipton Ice Tea. And who knew that babies start dancing when given a bottle of Evian to sip on? 

Food ads are also filled with dancing. In one spot, a Fig Newton mascot entices us to eat him by dancing the “Fig Newton Dance.” Meanwhile, animated characters dance with joy because they just called Grub Hub. And we’re prompted to shop at Whole Foods because their stores feature a cut-out of two people dancing in front of fully stocked shelves.

Automobile manufacturers also rely on dancing to sell their products. In one ad Toyota featured a disco dance party, and in another, a customer breaks into a maniacal dance just because there’s a sale going on. Volkswagen once transformed Gene Kelly into a hip-hop hoofer, and Kia used dancing bears who performed to “Gangnam Style” music.

Smartphones and cellular companies are no strangers to the dance craze either. They have included Samsung and T-Mobile which featured flash mobs, and Nextel where folks at a dance party love their phone service.

But the most obnoxious TV commercials are for weight loss medicines. Jardiance features a postal carrier who walks past a bunch of people hanging around an outdoor fountain. Suddenly the mob starts dancing because they are excited about diabetes. Sensa even brings law enforcement into their act. In one spot a police officer is suddenly surrounded by a mob of people dancing in front of a courthouse. The judge then comes outside and commences to perform cartwheels, all because he heard about a salt shaker that cuts calories. But the champion of dancing-themed TV commercials is Ozempic. In every spot, crowds of people gyrate as they sing “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic!” Having tried Ozempic myself I can tell you that “Oh, oh, oh” refers to what you scream as you try to make it to the bathroom.

I suppose that TV spots featuring people dancing for no reason are harmless so long as the dancers are drinking Coca-Cola, or attending a sale at the Kia dealership. But such nonsense is frivolous and misleading when it comes to life-threatening diseases like diabetes, arthritis, COPD and obesity, and I’m not the only one who is bothered by this. Social media is replete with folks who are offended by this kind of television advertising.

Someone on Reddit named Dandle recently posted:

“There are currently more than 19,000 prescription drugs approved for marketing in the U.S….too many of those ad campaigns are created by agencies gunning for recognition at industry award shows rather than engaging appropriate audiences with helpful and relevant information about an available treatment for a specific health condition. Awards go to the spots with mascots and song and dance numbers, not to the earnest and measured summaries of scientific information.”

Dancing can be lots of fun, but there’s just nothing funny about our health. The ad agencies who put this crap on TV should be ashamed, or at least be made to scream on the way to the bathroom.

 
 

Popeye the Sailor Man was normally a quiet, peace-loving guy, but when pushed to the brink, he sprang into action, saying, “That’s all I can stands. I can’t stands no more!” I reached my brink on December 27 when West Virginia’s head coach was doused with a huge container of Duke’s mayonnaise after his team beat North Carolina in (you guessed it) the Duke’s Mayonnaise Bowl. Then there was the Pop Tart Bowl, where, after the game a giant Pop Tart rushed onto the field and let itself be eaten (literally) by the victorious Kansas State Wildcats. And following the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, a cheese mascot emerged to hold up a box of product in front of the announcing team. Of course, at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the sponsor didn’t even have the decency to wait until after the game for shameless plugs. Throughout the game, the announcing team kept sampling various mayo-friendly recipes, like mayonnaise tacos, and pepperoni rolls with mayo. WTF?!!! Had I tuned into a football game or an episode of Celebrity Chef? What’s next? The Adam & Eve Bowl where announcers sample sex toys? Truth be told, though, I didn’t reach my brink from watching a three-hour commercial for Duke’s Mayonnaise. I reached it because I’ve had it with bowl games altogether.

Up until 1945, there were five major college football bowl games: the Rose, the Orange, the Sugar, the Cotton, and the Gator. Back then, and even into the 1950s and ’60s when the Peach and Liberty bowls were added, New Year’s holiday games really meant something. Fans got to see the top 14 teams go head-to-head for bragging rights to an imaginary national championship. Was it a scientific way of choosing a national champ? Of course not. But participating schools received some money and a ton of exposure for their athletic program. That, in turn, drove recruiting efforts, not just for athletes, but also for rank-and-file students and professors. Unfortunately, that level of prestige was short-lived.

Slowly but surely, the NCAA kept allowing cities and sponsors to underwrite additional bowl games such as the Independence Bowl, the Holiday Bowl, and the Fiesta Bowl. Even worse, the bowls themselves took a back seat to the sponsors. The Peach Bowl was no longer the Peach Bowl. It was the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Orange Bowl became the Capital One Bowl, and the Cotton Bowl morphed into the Goodyear Bowl. It was a double whammy: too many bowl games and too much commercialization.

As with anything, the more you multiply the product, the more you diminish its intrinsic value. A collector’s coin of the 2025 presidential inauguration, for example, would seem to be of great value. But if 10 million of the coins are minted, the coin becomes less special. And so it is with college football bowl games. Once there were five major bowls. Today there are 42. Today it’s all about television ad revenues and product placement, never mind the quality and prestige of the game. Does anyone really believe there are 84 teams who deserve to be in a nationally televised bowl game? Hell, all you have to do is win half of your games against weak opponents, and, voila! You are invited to a bowl game. Worse still, so many college players are entering the NFL draft portal now, that when you tune in to watch a bowl game, chances are the top players aren’t even playing. That’s OK with me, though. I just wish the sponsors would opt out of the games the same as the players.

Bowl games today are no longer special. They are just long-form advertisements for sponsors like Bad Boys Mowers, Barstool Sports, and Scooter’s Coffee. In the immortal words of Popeye, “It’s all I can stands. I can’t stands no more!”

 
 

Say what you will about the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but truth is the most connected man in Hollywood is Ed Begley, Jr. That’s because Ed knows or has worked with just about every major celebrity in the universe. Now, thanks to his new memoir, we can all feel connected to Ed.

To the Temple of Tranquility…and Step On It! takes us on a no-holds-barred journey with Ed, who, at age 74, still looks like he could pass for a member of the Beach Boys. In the book we learn of his early struggles with alcohol (drinking a quart of vodka daily), and his more recent battle with Parkinson’s. We discover that Ed didn’t know the identity of his biological mother until he was nearly 16 years old, yet, despite the trauma of that revelation, he didn’t hold a grudge against his Dad. Just the opposite. Ed Jr. revered his famous Oscar-winning father and was in awe of his talent. And of course, we get to learn about Ed’s celebrity friends (both famous and infamous), and what led him to become an environmental activist.

I first got “connected” to Ed back in 1997 when I was writing a series of articles about St. Elsewhere, the groundbreaking medical drama that launched the careers of Denzel Washington, Howie Mandel, and Mark Harmon. It also made Ed a major celebrity in his own right, garnering six straight EMMY nominations for his portrayal of Dr. Victor Ehrlich. The issues-driven show also taught Ed about the impact that television has on people’s lives. During a taping of Donohue, the St. Elsewhere cast heard from one audience member who said, “I was in the hospital for 21 days with colon cancer. Friends, God, and St. Elsewhere were responsible for healing me.”

“It made me feel good being attached to that show,” Ed told me.

Today Ed’s Parkinsons is under control, and he is still acting, most recently as the professor in Young Sheldon. He lives in a LEED-certified house with his wife Rachelle Carson who has served as his partner and foil both on TV and in real life for the past 24 years. I recently spoke with Ed about his new book, his health, and his commitment to protecting the environment.

 

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Jim: Soon after your father told you the identity of your biological mother, you began to abuse alcohol. But what else drove you to drink?

Ed: Well, I really admired guys like Richard Burton, Oliver Reed, and Peter O’Toole. They were incredible actors and I wanted to be like them. I thought it was the drinking that made them great, so I actually pursued alcohol when I was just 15-and-a-half years old. I wanted to drink like them, drink like a man, and not like my Dad who quit drinking when I was about three years old.

Jim: You caught the acting bug from your father. Tell me about that.

Ed: When he was in a play, I would go backstage, and I went on tour with him for shows like Look Homeward Angel and Advise and Consent. I’d go backstage and I could feel the energy in the audience. So, I wanted to do what my Dad did, but I had it all wrong, Jim. I’m thinking, “Dad makes it look easy, and I’m a charming guy, so just give me a role on Gunsmoke or Ben Casey.” But I didn’t train.

Jim: Did your Dad’s name ever open doors for you or land you any jobs?

Ed: At first, I wanted to change my name and not trade off of my father’s reputation, but I quickly realized how hard it was to get into the business. I could also see how much it would hurt my father’s feelings if I changed my name and didn’t carry on the Begley tradition, so I became Ed Begley, Jr. 

Jim: Who were your favorite film or TV actors when you were a kid?

Ed: I liked John Wayne and Rock Hudson…but it never occurred to me to put my father in that group because I had no idea what a great actor he was, and how incredible he was in 12 Angry Men, or how great he was in Sorry Wrong Number. I finally developed a sense of gratitude for being born the son of Ed Begley. I had won the lottery, Jim, and I didn’t even buy a ticket. Yeah, I was a “nepo” baby but I didn’t know what that was. I finally took acting classes to get some finer level of skills, and then I’d get a call from somebody saying to come in and read for a part on a TV series, and it turns out it was my father who had set it up. I just had very little gratitude for being born on second base.  

Jim: You and I are both children of the 1950s, which was hardly an era for environmental responsibility and awareness, so what led you to become an activist?

Ed: I saw the smog around Los Angeles. I saw the Santa Barbara oil spill. And I saw pictures of the Cuyahoga River catching fire in Cleveland. Well, rivers aren’t supposed to catch fire. So when they had the first Earth Day in 1970, I said “Sign me up.” I started recycling and composting, and I bought an electric car.

Jim: You talk a lot about our carbon footprint. What do you mean?

Ed: Our carbon footprint is the net result of how much CO2 it takes to do any job or activity. It takes a certain amount of CO2 to make a mountain bike or solar panels, or a wind turbine. But if you build them right, they last 30 or 40 years and they will give you a net savings of CO2 over the life of those items. The point is if you make your decisions with a little bit of education and a little bit of thought, you can beat the dealer, if you will. You’re using less CO2 than you are making. I have been carbon-negative since 1985 thanks in part to investing in a wind farm, and installing a solar roof.

Jim: When did you first suspect that you had Parkinson’s?

Ed: Back in the late 90s, I’d try to do something with my left pinky finger, and it would twitch, and I’d think, “What the hell is that?” Then I had to get special boots made because of problems with my left heel. I had pain in my left arm that lasted for months and months. All of the problems were on the left side of my body, and that was a sure sign of Parkinson’s. In 2004, I started having trouble with my balance, and my body would twitch, but I didn’t report it to the doctor. Then in 2016, I went to a speech therapist because I was starting to slur my words and couldn’t articulate them the way I used to. That’s when I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

Jim:  You probably know more celebrities than anyone else in Hollywood. Your friends include Taylor Swift, Nicholson, DiCaprio, Denzel, Streep, and hundreds of other A-listers. Even so, how is it you came to cook dinner for DeNiro, Tommy Lee Jones, Daniel Day Lewis, and Hugh Jackman all on one night?

Ed: That was the brainchild of Howard Koch, Jr. a friend of mine who was president of the Academy and I was on the board. And Howard said, “I have a great idea, let’s have the governors of each branch cook dinner for a group of 2013 Oscar nominees. So, I cooked a vegan meal for those guys. They all had a great time interacting with each other and enjoyed each other’s company.

Jim: Why did you decide to write this book now?

Ed: Two years ago, my daughter Hayden came to me and said she wanted to record some stories of what it was like when I was growing up, and some of the famous people I had known. It was kinda fun talking to her about that, so I started taking some notes on my computer, and typing up all those things that were in the attic of my mind.

Jim: You wrote in the book that you were once attacked by 25 guys, stabbed repeatedly, and almost died. Is it true that those guys were oil lobbyists?

Ed: [laughs] It was not true, and it wasn’t 25. It was maybe a dozen.

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To the Temple of Tranquility…and Step On It! is available from Amazon.

 
 

As we celebrate this holiday season, let’s not forget that there are people beyond our immediate circle of family and friends who are suffering, and could benefit from our love and generosity. Over the past decade, I’ve been able to showcase scores of community organizations on my Triad Today television show, 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.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC: Even prior to the pandemic, the Piedmont Triad had one of the worst food insecurity problems in the nation, and that included the problem of childhood hunger. Now, with thousands more of our neighbors in need, the problem has worsened, including for children. To help alleviate the hunger problem, Second Harvest Food Bank has stepped up its efforts to distribute food to nonprofit agencies who feed hungry people in an 18-county area. The Food Bank has also partnered with a number of area companies to provide meals for kids. You can write a check directly to the food bank, or 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 SecondHarvestNWNC.org.

Cancer Services, Inc.‘s 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, financial assistance, providing equipment and supplies, offering peer support groups, and much more. Ninety percent 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 with a safe, temporary environment. 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.

Mountain Valley Hospice is a nonprofit agency that serves an 18-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 offices throughout the region, and operates two hospice homes. They also specialize in care for terminally ill children and veterans, and offer grief support for kids and adults. 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 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.

Shift_ed provides qualified students with college scholarships, and much more. Formerly “Say YES Guilford”, Shift_ed also provides students with support services that are designed to help them be successful in life. Their equity-based program begins in kindergarten and includes everything from tutoring to career counseling. Shift_ed relies in part upon donations from companies and individuals. To learn more about scholarships, or to make a donation, visit Shift-ed.org.

Carolina Donor Services and Red Cross &ehellip; There can be no greater gift 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 CarolinaDonorServices.org. You can call the Red Cross at 336-333-2111, or visit them online at RedCross.org.

Please remember that your donations of time, money, or goods to area community organizations are 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.

 
 

The first movie theaters in America were called “nickelodeons” because it cost five cents to get in. Today we can watch movies at home on a variety of channels, and though it costs a lot more than a nickel to view, we can access those channels through a variety of delivery systems such as cable, satellite, and internet streaming. The first two are contract services delivered by either a landline or a dish. The latter is available online or on the go and requires no additional hardware. Just download an “app” and you’re all set.

Increasingly, younger consumers are choosing to “cut the cable” (a euphemism for getting rid of cable or satellite TV services) and instead are opting to watch their favorite movies or programs in à la carte fashion on their television or personal device without being technically or financially tethered to any one provider. Today’s cable-cutters generally cite high cost as their reason for changing providers and who can blame them?

No doubt both satellite and cable TV provide superior video quality compared to streaming, and the total number of channels available is far greater as well, but you pay through the nose for those privileges.

Sure, DirecTV offers three different packages ranging in price from $69 to $159 dollars per month, but if you have receivers in multiple rooms, then prepare for sticker shock, because each additional receiver runs an extra $7 per month. Then there’s $10 for high definition, a mandatory $13.99 for a “regional sports fee,” $20 for various state and county taxes, and, if you expect to receive technical assistance, you have to purchase a “Protection Plan” which runs $20.99 per month. It’s like dealing with the Mafia, except without the personal touch. Add up everything and you can expect to pay anywhere from $250 to $300 per month for DirecTV.

But it gets worse. For example, if you subscribe to a complete sports package which includes every standard ESPN channel, you still have to pay an additional fee to watch games of regional interest if your team happens to be playing on ESPN+. And if you’d like to watch some of the new TV shows on Cinemax or Disney, you have to ante up an additional fee even though you’re already paying for their parent channels. You’d think that as much as DirecTV charges, you’d be able to access those games and shows as part of your “package”. Think again.

OK, so say you decide to divorce yourself from cable or satellite. Sure, you can save money, but only if you limit the number of streaming services. YouTube TV costs $72 per month, Netflix is $20, Hulu is $89, Paramount+ goes for $12, Apple TV+ is $15, Peacock $12, Amazon Prime $15, FUBO TV $89, Sling TV $55, and Disney+ is $20, just to mention a few.

Now suppose your favorite TV shows are spread out among all of these streaming services. Let’s say I love Hijack and Slow Horses on Apple TV+. And suppose I just can’t do without Lawmen, Tulsa King, and The Good Fight on Paramount+. Suppose I’m addicted to Andor and Loki on Disney+, or Obliterated on Netflix. And I just can’t miss The Boys on Amazon Prime, Monarch on HBO Max, The Continental on Peacock, and Reservation Dogs, The Drop Out, and Goosebumps on Hulu. If you subscribe to all of those streaming channels in order to watch all of your favorite shows, then suddenly, your monthly bill is higher than most cable or satellite packages.

In analyzing the hidden and not-so-hidden costs of watching TV, I am reminded of a well-known complaint that is often uttered about taxes and how they mount up: “First they get you on sales tax, then property tax, then income tax. The government is just trying to nickel and dime us to death.” That’s how it is with TV providers. Little by little those incremental, add-on costs can strain your budget. Welcome to “Nickel and Dime TV.”

 
 

Not many people can boast that they lost their virginity to Ronald Reagan, won a Golden Globe for cross-dressing, and are famous for wielding a knife at a telekinetic prom queen. Come to think of it, there’s only one person I can think of who can make those claims.

Piper Laurie came up through the Universal Studios system in a class of freshmen that included Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Julia Adams, and James Best. Her first film role was in 1950’s Louisa (starring Ronald Reagan), and she proved to be one of the most versatile actors of the 20th century, at first specializing as the love interest of pirates, cowboys and pool sharks, and later, as every kind of mother, some with a nurturing nature and others with a psychotic bent. Piper is a three-time Oscar nominee for The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986). She won the Golden Globe for Carrie (1976), and an EMMY for the TV movie Promise. Her last regular gig was earlier this year as the voice of Grandma in the podcast “Around the Sun.” Piper Laurie passed away on October 14. She was 91.

I first met Piper in 2014 at, of all places, a Western Film Festival, where loyal cowboy fans remembered her as much for a handful of forgettable oaters as for Carrie. We talked about her career, her autobiography, and yes, about her affair with the 40th President of the United States.

 

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JL: You scared me to death in Carrie when you were wielding that knife at Sissy Spacek. Did you know that film was going to be so scary?

PL: I had no idea. I took the part because originally, I thought it was a comedy. Only in rehearsals did I find out from Brian DePalma that he meant it to be serious. I had worked out some comedy bits to do, and he stopped me after the second time and said, “Piper you can’t do that. You’ll get a laugh.” [laughs]

JL: Do you remember the first time you ever acted as a child?

PL: I was told that I went up on stage at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan when I was about 2 years old because they were giving away peanuts. You could take as many as you could carry, so I lifted my skirt to put the peanuts in it and the audience howled. My sister was mortified and talked about it forever because my underpants were showing [laughs] and everybody was clapping. But that was my first stage experience.

JL: I’m disappointed in you that as a serious actress, you would lift your skirt and work for peanuts.

PL: No comment.

JL: You received rave reviews for The Hustler, and I thought you would have gone on immediately to do lots more films, but you said goodbye to Hollywood and didn’t come back for 15 years until you did Carrie. Why did you get out and why wait so long to get back in?

PL: The work that was being offered wasn’t that interesting and the world was changing. The Vietnam War had started, and it seemed uninteresting for me to spend a lot of energy on something that wasn’t respected.

JL: Your new book is titled Learning to Live Out Loud. Why did you write it?

PL: A lot of stories get all mixed up and I just wanted to get it all straight. Also, I kept a lot of secrets and I thought they were really interesting secrets.

JL: You write in the book that when you were 18 years old, your first love was Ronald Reagan. You said he seduced you and that you had a relationship. So, my question is, why didn’t you end up as First Lady?

PL: Oh God. He wasn’t the man for me. It was a wonderful first love, but he wasn’t a man for me to be with the rest of my life. And he was 20 years older than I was. He was very attractive, though.

JL: You acted in a number of Westerns, and you were great in them, so since we’re here at the Western Film Fair I’m obliged to ask why you didn’t do more Westerns?

PL: Well, I was under contract to Universal and I did whatever they told me to do, but I was luckier than most because they put me to work right away and kept me working. I would do three or four films a year and when I wasn’t working, they would send me on the road to promote the ones I had done.

JL: Fans of Twin Peaks remember that magnificent disguise that you wore. You also did a lot of cameos and guest-starring roles during that time. Was it difficult to step into a guest spot in a show that was already established?

PL: It depends on the part. Sometimes parts are written very specifically for an outsider, and it works in that case. So, the fact that you have no relationship with the actors is OK. Usually, when I take a job like that, I make it my business to watch as many of the episodes as I can, in order to get up to speed.

JL: What have you been up to lately?

PL: I recently did my first stage musical, “A Little Night Music” in Santa Barbara at the opening of a brand-new theatre, and I had a great time.

JL: I’m just glad you didn’t do a new musical version of Carrie because I don’t think I could have withstood you singing with a knife in your hand. You scared me to death.

PL: Well, you look alright.

JL: I’m OK now, but I’m actually only 20 years old. I just look 60 because it scared me so bad.

PL: [Laughs]

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Presidents are only human, so they make mistakes. No, I’m not talking about Bill Clinton hooking up with Monica Lewinski, or Joe Biden forgetting which way to walk off stage. I’m talking about John Kennedy, and how he misread history, unintentionally insulted the Commonwealth 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 12 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 that means gathering together with friends and family to share food, gifts, and goodwill. And, despite the personal and financial losses we might have endured over the past few years, we will find a way to give thanks for what we have and who we’re with. Perhaps we would also 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.

God bless, and Happy Thanksgiving.
 
 

Patrick Henry hated two things: tyranny and James Madison. That’s why in 1788, Henry persuaded the Virginia General Assembly to re-draw the 5th Congressional District to favor his friend James Monroe. The ploy didn’t work because of Madison’s popularity across party lines, but it does mark the first documented case of gerrymandering in America. Since then, the practice of fiddling with boundaries has become commonplace, especially here in North Carolina.

To be fair, both major political parties have engaged in gerrymandering, a strategy designed to protect incumbents of whichever party was in power at the time. It is also sometimes employed to strengthen that party’s hold on the state legislature or increase their numbers within the congressional delegation. Lately, though, the GOP’s map-drawing activities have been particularly heavy-handed and ballsy, considering that Democrats outnumber Republicans on the voter rolls.

In recent times such gerrymandering has been designed to dilute Democrat and minority voting and make it unlikely for Black candidates to win a seat in Congress. To that point, earlier in this decade, Republicans once held 10 of North Carolina’s 13 congressional seats. But the census and the courts changed that equation when our state picked up an additional congressional district, and a panel of special masters came up with a map that resulted in each party holding seven seats.

Earlier last month, the Republican-controlled N.C. Senate re-drew district lines that can be used for the 2024 election, and with a conservative Supreme Court in the mix, the GOP stands to unfairly gain seats in both Raleigh and Washington. But if that kind of political skullduggery leaves a bad taste in your mouth, just wait until it actually affects the taste of your drinking water, and it could. 

According to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, we need to spend between $17 billion and $26 billion dollars to ensure that our water and wastewater infrastructure systems don’t pose a hazard to our health. Speaking with the Winston-Salem Journal’s John Deem, NCDEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser said, “Our communities are dealing with an aging infrastructure. A lot of pipes that were put in the ground before any of us were born, are made out of terracotta and wood, and they’re leaking and losing water and wastewater throughout our state.” 

As Deem reports, last month Republican lawmakers approved $2 billion dollars for replacing and improving more than 200 local water and sewer projects. But Democrats like Guilford representative Pricey Harrison point out that those budget allocations were not formulated based on the highest need, but rather on which localities are controlled by Republicans. To be specific, the North Carolina Conservation Network estimates that 83% of the funding will be spent in counties and cities that are, “represented exclusively by Republicans in the General Assembly,” and only 2.5% will go to areas ”represented entirely by Democrats.” That, my friends, is gerrymandering at its worst.

Sam Chan, a spokesperson for Gov. Roy Cooper told the Journal, “It’s wrong to divide up money in the back room based on politics…the need is great for clean water infrastructure that’s critical for our health and our economy, and it cheats taxpayers not to get the best use of every dollar.”     

Patrick Henry once said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” He also opposed “taxation without representation”. But thanks to his pioneering efforts in the art of gerrymandering, we are slowly losing our liberty by having our tax dollars spent without fair and balanced representation, and that’s hard to swallow, with or without water.

 
 

Virginia Foxx is not like most Washington politicians who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths. In fact, she may not have even had a spoon. Growing up in Avery County, Virginia’s family was so poor that in order to make ends meet, she took a job as a janitor at the high school she was attending. She persevered and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill then went on to teach English at Appalachian State University, followed by a stint as president of Maryland Community College. Her first taste of politics came while serving as Gov. Jim Martin’s Deputy Secretary of Management. That led to a successful run for the state Senate where she served from 1994 until 2004. That year, 5th District Congressman Richard Burr decided to jump from the House to the United States Senate, creating a crowded field of Republican candidates who wanted to succeed him. That’s when I got to know Virginia Foxx.

Then as now, the 5th district is so heavily Republican that whoever snags the nomination for Congress is all but assured of a victory in the general election. That’s why eight Republicans lined up to run in a July primary for Burr’s vacated seat. Known only to voters in Watauga County, Virginia finished in second place behind the bombastic Vernon Robinson who billed himself as “the Black Jesse Helms,” and was, in many ways, Trump before Trump. Robinson had served on Winston-Salem City Council and made a name for himself for outrageous statements and stunts, like the time he placed a replica of the Ten Commandments on the courthouse steps, or took credit for creating charter schools. Unfortunately for Vernon, his margin of victory over Foxx wasn’t large enough to avoid a run-off. That set up their one and only face-to-face debate which I moderated as part of a Triad Today special.

On August 4, 2004, just prior to the run-off election, Foxx and Robinson sat down with me for a half-hour discussion and debate. At one point, Robinson took a veiled swipe at Foxx for being a woman who never served in the military.

 

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VR: I’m the only person in this race with military experience…I served as a missile combat crew commander.

JL: Exactly in what war did you serve?

VR: [pauses to think] The Cold War.

JL: But you’ve often talked about your combat experience. Did you engage in combat?

VR: No, but I’m a veteran.

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I also questioned Robinson about his Education Reform Foundation.

 

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JL: Your Foundation has a budget of $107,000, but you pay yourself $104,000, leaving only $3,000 for reform.

VR: [pauses] Uh, that was over three years.

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In the years since that famous debate, I’ve been told that my fact-checking line of questioning cost Vernon the election. If that’s so, then you can blame me for putting Virginia Foxx in Congress. But it was also during that broadcast nearly 20 years ago that Virginia said something which is now coming back to haunt her. Said Ms. Foxx, “The people of this district deserve a dignified, hard-working person who wants to serve them.”

After taking her seat in Congress, Virginia was dignified. She was a model representative, not only attending every House vote but showing up at numerous events back home in the district. I referred to her as, “the hardest working woman in Congress,” a tag that still applies today. I was honored when, in 2005, Virginia took to the floor of the House and read a proclamation in recognition of my work on Triad Today. Said Foxx, “Mr. Speaker, the press has a responsibility to fulfill its role as the fourth estate, that is to serve as a guardian of democracy and defender of the public interest. I am pleased to congratulate Triad Today for its outstanding commitment to keeping the community informed.” 

But somewhere along the way, Virginia started to change. She went from being dignified to being arrogant and angry. She also became a camera hound who managed to wrangle herself beside Republican presidents and leaders during State of the Union addresses and press conferences. And, Virginia became such a partisan that she didn’t care what bilge she spewed, like when she frightened her own elderly constituents by telling them that Obamacare would create death camps for older people. Worst of all she forgot how to act with and around anyone who disagreed with her increasingly far-right-wing ideologies. She also forgot her pledge to be dignified and to defend the free press, as we saw recently when she yelled at a reporter.

That was the day homophobic insurrection supporter Mike Johnson was named Speaker of the House. Afterward, Virginia pushed her way to the front of Johnson’s impromptu press conference where a reporter from ABC News asked the Speaker about his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. Before Johnson could respond, the gaggle of fellow election deniers behind him laughed at the question. Then, Virginia jumped in and shouted to the reporter, “SHUT UP! SHUT UP!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from my friend who once pledged to be “dignified.” This was the same woman who, when honoring Triad Today, called the press, “guardians of democracy and defenders of the public interest.” Her outburst at the ABC reporter was alarming, not just because it was scary rude, but because it said a lot about how far Virginia Foxx has devolved from being a polite partisan into a self-appointed censor of anyone who doesn’t believe the lies that she and her right-wing colleagues spin with great regularity.

Thanks to GOP gerrymandering, Virginia Foxx, now 80 years old, is assured of a seat in Congress for as long as she wants it. I just wish she didn’t want it. She has become an embarrassment to our state and a symbol of everything that is wrong with politics in America. I wish Virginia would do the right thing and retire, but if she decides to remain in office, I just wish she would, to use her words, “SHUT UP! SHUT UP!”

 
 

I once asked the Rev. Jesse Jackson if voter apathy was the biggest threat to democracy. “No,” he said. “It’s voter suppression.” He was right then and he’s especially right now. Want proof? Then just take a gander at the newly drawn Congressional districts being proposed by our Republican-controlled State Senate.

Voter suppression comes in many forms, some subtle and some not so subtle. It can involve decreasing the number of polling places in Black neighborhoods or cutting back on the number of days allowed for early voting. It can also come in the form of restrictive voter identification laws or removing select drop boxes for mail-in ballots. Voter suppression also involves dirty tricks by political operatives, who sometimes generate robocalls that mislead people about polling locations and hours. But the most blatant type of voter suppression is gerrymandering, a process whereby one political party creates discriminatory voting districts so as to give their candidates a distinct edge over the opposition party.

That’s what Republicans in the North Carolina Senate are doing (and have been for years) by breaking up urban areas of heavily Democratic cities and counties into pieces, and attaching those pieces to areas that are already heavily Republican. The initial result of this partisan piecemeal effort was to offer a choice between two maps that might be used in next year’s election. One version was in Senate Bill 756, and the other in SB 757. Both of them were absurdly odious, but last week Senate Republicans advanced SB 757 as their best and final congressional map to be used in the 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections. Court challenges are expected to follow by organizations like Common Cause, but if the GOP map is upheld, then the North Carolina congressional delegation will shift from 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans, to a possible 11-3 split in favor of Republicans. It all seems so unfair, especially because Democrats outnumber Republicans statewide. Nevertheless, short of a judicial miracle, the SB 757 map could prevail. Here’s how it will affect Piedmont voters.  

Under the new map, the 5th Congressional district (now represented by Republican Virginia Foxx) will include northwest Guilford County and most of Greensboro. It will also encompass GOP stronghold counties of Allegany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Rockingham, Surry, Stokes, Watauga, and Wilkes. 

The 6th district (now represented by Democrat Kathy Manning) will take in southwest Guilford County and High Point, along with Kernersville and Walkertown. But it will also include Davie, Davidson and Rowan counties, and about 20% of Cabarrus. And, just for good measure, the new 6th district will also include southern Forsyth County.

The 9th district (now represented by Republican Richard Hudson) will cover Alamance, Hoke, Moore and Randolph counties, as well as parts of Chatham and Cumberland, and the remaining areas of Guilford not already allocated to the 5th and 6th districts.

The 10th district (represented by Republican Patrick McHenry) will include Winston-Salem and western Forsyth County, as well as Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln, and Yadkin.

Under this map, Kathy Manning’s current district (which includes most of the Triad) will be carved up and scattered into four different Republican strongholds, thus explaining why High Point Mayor Jay Wagner, former Congressman Mark Walker, and Army vet Christian Castelli felt emboldened to announce that they would seek the 6th district seat next year.

It is truly amazing what lengths Republicans will go to in order to hold onto and increase their power base, and, in so doing, show a total disregard for representative government and the rights of Democratic voters. When you give yourself an advantage by rigging the election up front, that means you are afraid to compete on an equal playing field, and that makes you seem like a bunch of frightened, self-serving cowards. I apologize for my feelings, but some things are just hard to suppress.