Category Archives: north carolina

All Posts, north carolina, race

HOW RACISM LIES IN WAIT FOR US

A man in a uniform looked at me and said, “Son, you’ll have to gain three pounds to get into this man’s army.”  It was in early 1969 that I was required to appear for a selective service physical examination.   I walked through the examination center in my underwear along with John, a college friend who was scheduled for the same day.

John was next in the line where height and weight were checked.    He was a good student,  a big man, a capable athlete, and black.  The same man (white) looked at him and said, “Boy, you’ll have to lose five pounds to get in this man’s army.”  I could see my friend’s dark brown face turning red; and feared how he might respond to being called “boy”.  He paused, looked back at his antagonist, and replied, “Yessuh Boss”  then mock-shuffled away and laughed out loud. Continue reading HOW RACISM LIES IN WAIT FOR US →

All Posts, Christianity, north carolina, religion

Hoosier Hysteria Over Religious Freedom

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It is difficult to overestimate either the entertainment value of Indiana’s new “Religious Freedom Restoration” law or the damage that it has already done.  With the support of religious conservatives, Hoosier Republicans have swept away the authority of all government agencies to”…substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion…” The law allows anyone who thinks their free exercise of religion has been impaired to receive attorney fees and compensatory damages if they prevail in court.  Randolph County legislators Pat Hurley and Allen McNeill are sponsoring a similar law in North Carolina. Continue reading Hoosier Hysteria Over Religious Freedom →

All Posts, economy, north carolina

OUR FUTURE AND OUR MEGASITE

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This is a column written for publication in the Asheboro Courier-Tribune  – relevant for Piedmont Triad readers and perhaps for others living where industrial megasites are under consideration.

“If you don’t know where you want to go, you’re likely to wind up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra, baseball philosopher. The attribution of the quotation is questionable, but its wisdom is beyond doubt.

We know the trajectory and history of our local economy and we know that the work that has sustained our families and communities has been disappearing. We lost thousands of jobs to automation and to places where labor is cheap. The reasons are simple. Private capital flows to ventures that produce high profits. Profitability is improved when expensive labor is replaced by automation or when work is moved to places with cheap labor. The good news is that we get to create our own future. Continue reading OUR FUTURE AND OUR MEGASITE →

All Posts, north carolina, public education

Tough Love For School Boards And Legislators

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Help wanted:  Professional position, requires bachelor’s degree, Masters preferred.  Starting salary is $33,000 – $36,300 depending on academic qualifications.  Raises are dependent on multiple complex criteria that have little to do with how hard or well you work and are subject to change without notice.   Employees are expected to bring their own supplies.  Position title:  Public School Teacher in North Carolina. Continue reading Tough Love For School Boards And Legislators →

All Posts, economy, health, medicaid, north carolina

How To Fix Obamacare

If your loved one  is seriously ill or injured and can’t pay for health care, should America provide what she/he needs? If health care costs are beyond the reach of many Americans,  should government take action? If you answer “yes”, the next steps are about how to achieve the goals; and it’s time for fact based solutions to the problems of American health care. Continue reading How To Fix Obamacare →

All Posts, economy, justice, north carolina, poverty

Legislators like Tillis betrayed military families and the poor

Thom Tillis and other red-state legislators made it easy for big banks and financial companies to prey on the poor with interest rates as high as 36%. The legislators accepted large contributions from financial industry representatives, and it appears that  Tillis got more than any other legislator in the nation.   Ignoring the advice of military leaders, these lawmakers sold out low income families trying to  climb into the middle class. Click here for specifics.  It’s wrong for elected leaders to help big companies take advantage of the poor.  Kudos to the NY Times for their research and follow-up.

All Posts, health, justice, north carolina, public education

Does Underage Drinking Fuel Campus Assaults?

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I got you in trouble in high school; but college, now that was a ball.  You had some of the best times you’ll never remember with me – Alcohol.”  (Brad Paisley)

The song masks pain and humiliation behind humor.  Many college students arrive with established alcohol habits and binge drinking is popular recreation. Some parents allow pre-college teenagers to have alcohol at parties.   Are they protecting their children by letting them learn to drink responsibly under supervision or are they increasing the chances that the children will become alcoholics?  In some states that is legal and in others parents could face both criminal and civil penalties.  Excessive drinking among teens is associated with academic failure, violence,  and financial problems. Continue reading Does Underage Drinking Fuel Campus Assaults? →

All Posts, budget, health, north carolina, taxes

FRACKING DANGERS ARE WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT

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North Carolina’s Republican Governor and a nearly unanimous majority of Republican lawmakers have recklessly dashed ahead to allow hydraulic fracking for production of natural gas. They have ignored the growing body of evidence that fracking imperils our health and the safety of our air and water. They missed the “look before you leap” lesson and took all of us along when they jumped into fracking. Continue reading FRACKING DANGERS ARE WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT →

All Posts, budget, deficit, economy, health, medicaid, north carolina, poverty, taxes

JUST SAY YES TO MEDICAID

The decision by North Carolina’s governing Republicans (every single one of them) to reject Medicaid expansion will cost the state’s residents $37 billion by 2022. That is roughly enough money to run the entire state government for 21 months. They looked at the money and just said “no”. They looked at uninsured people living in poverty and just said “no”. They looked at hospitals and doctors who care for uninsured people, and they just said “no”. And they just said “no” to unemployed workers who would have found jobs in the Medicaid expansion. Continue reading JUST SAY YES TO MEDICAID →

All Posts, medicaid, north carolina, religion

REPUBLICAN SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE?

The following words are from House Bill 1181, passed by the North Carolina House and endorsed by Governor McCrory. “It is the intent of the General Assembly to transform the State’s Medicaid program from a traditional fee-for-service system into a system that provides budget predictability for the taxpayers of this State while ensuring quality care to those in need.” Translation: Instead of paying for whatever health care is used, they want to budget a fixed amount and make doctors and hospitals absorb any additional costs. They want doctors to save money by keeping patients healthy more so than treating them after they are sick.   If their plan works everyone wins. If it fails, our poorest citizens will bear the burden. Continue reading REPUBLICAN SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE? →