Column for Oct. 30, 2008

This is the last column before the upcoming Presidential Election. By the next time my column appears in this paper, we should have another President Elect, unless we end up attempting to count hanging chads somewhere in the nation.

Once again, we already see problems with military ballots not being counted. There were absentee ballots filled out by thousands of military men and women that may not be counted in Virginia because of a state law requiring the name and address for a witness to the vote, yet the ballots only had a space printed on them for a witness name. A petty thing like that is either an oversight that need to be immediately rectified or a deliberate tactic by some sharp political gamesman.

I am looking over the choices I have on the ballot this year, not only in my own district, but in others. Overall, I am not impressed. Perhaps the more I read, the older I get, and the more I experience, the less tolerant I get of the status quo and of political games.

I have become a hard core conservative, by today's description. More accurately, I am a classic liberal, id est, I am a supporter of liberty and personal responsibility. I got that way after reading, living, and learning. The more I read, the more I am strengthened in my convictions. I used to be a somewhat liberal democrat with some conservative leanings, but I used to align myself with the Democratic Party years ago. Then I grew up.

For years, I aligned myself with the Republican Party, often holding my nose, so to speak, when I went to the ballot box. Seldom did I run across a candidate that I truly liked and for whom I wanted to cast my ballot. Over the past twenty or so years, the GOP has slid further and further towards the left whereas the Democratic Party has sprinted towards becoming a totally socialist party. Hence, my total withdrawal from the GOP. Oddly enough, the Democratic Party was once known (in the late 1700's) as The Republican Party.

I would rather be stabbed to death with a plastic fork than vote for Barack Hussein Obama and I detest John McCain. Where does that leave me? With the rest of the people who liked Ron Paul or are third party leaning voters. Though I have some serious issues with a few topics relating to abortion and absolute and total legalization of drugs (their keystone subject matters, oft times) I may end up voting for Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party. Any man who ate cheese in the Borat movie may just be worthy of my vote.

No, I do not believe for one minute I am wasting my vote in going for a third party candidate. I believe I have to sleep at night and have bad enough insomnia as it is. If I want slumber, I can not help put John McCain in office. I don't believe that it was Ross Perot and his supporters that got us Bill Clinton any more than I believe it would be a Libertarian that would get us Obama as President. It would be poor leadership and fielding of candidates on behalf of Republicans that would get us Obama as President.

For Governor, I was leaning towards Bill Graham for the office, but he never made it past the primaries. Even after reading about him and watching his campaign, I still don't know much about Pat McCrory. I liked a lot of what I saw in Libertarian Michael Munger until I read his positions on issues like capital punishment. However, I did like a lot of his fiscal policies.

For Lt. Governor, I liked Robert Pittinger from the start. For Congress, I already said I really like the underdog, Dan Mansell. Then there are a lot of state races that should probably not be up for election but should rather have an appointment with senatorial advice and consent as we do not he federal level, such as Commissioner of This and Auditor of That. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the man who wants to be held in the public trust as State Auditor is named Les Merritt? I realize the spelling differences, but I still laugh whenever I see the name. And he seems to be the better choice for that position.

We have a bunch of judges nobody ever heard of running for office on courts of appeals and for district judgeships. We have some of the same men running for State House seats who will be in the minority if elected. I see some of the same names for County Commissioner that did not see fit to show up to public hearings on the ETJ law and can not say no to increased spending. Then again, increased spending seems to be at every level of government.

With the current crops of candidates, I see us going backwards rather than forwards in regards to liberty, financial gains, and education. I certainly do not see a Presidential candidate that will properly "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". In taking that oath, many presidents have broken that promise shortly after inauguration. In this election, it seems that neither candidate has any intention of doing so, everyone knows it, and nobody seems to care.

Column for Oct. 23, 2008

I am amazed. The more I read, listen, and see about the upcoming election, the more I am just amazed. This election year is not the worst in terms of dirty politics. I recall reading about some serious issues in the election of 1800 that make candidates today look like altar boys. Just last week, I just got a book in the mail on the events surrounding that election. I ordered it after reading an article by Robert Novak in "The American Spectator" by about that election.

Still, I have a hard time watching most of the political ads and even the debates on television or listening to them on the radio. I can not count how many times I have shouted at the TV or talked to my radio in disgust. I am not a fan of dirty politics.

Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has, in my estimation, been on the receiving end of a lot of personal attacks that are unwarranted. She has been criticized as unqualified, for her stance on abstinence teaching yet having a teenage daughter who strayed and got pregnant, for alleged abuse of power as Governor of Alaska, and for numerous other issues. As to the qualifications, she is actually more qualified to be President than is Obama. She is the only conservative in the race. Still, as brilliant a political move as it was for John McCain to pick her as a running mate, the choice is still not enough to get me to vote for him. Personally, I like Palin for her conservative views. She is not candidate for President, though.

I understand dirty politics' gossip and slander, as well as its results personally. A year ago, I was on the receiving end of such dirty tactics in just a municipal election. I heard from numerous sources of slanderous attacks and accusations about me personally that were patently false. I got hate mail, heard rumors, and got feedback of its confirmation. That is the price one pays for sticking one's head above the crowd. When you do so, expect a few tomatoes to be thrown at you, deserved or not.

I applaud those who are willing to take a stand and run for elected office. There are some people left who are willing to put action to their words and attempt to do something about it. Been there, done that, got the half dozen t-shirts. I spoke to a few of them recently and I wish them well.

Effective or not, falsehoods and slanderous attacks are often inappropriate and in fact sinful. Still, that does not stop those who wish to win an election. Ruining someone's reputation through character assassination is despicable. It is despicable but effective. All one has to do to prove that concept is listen to the ads on TV and radio.

Elizabeth Dole has been on the receiving end of a lot of mud slinging. Kay Hagan has as well. Barack Hussein Obama has not only been guilty of slinging the mud but has been on the receiving end. John McCain, as much as I do not care for him as a candidate, has been on the receiving end for things as ridiculous as criticism for not being able to send email. What the attacks do not say is that he can not do so because of the lack of dexterity because of injuries sustained while a prisoner of war. Stretching the truth to create the illusion of incompetence is deplorable.

I am an issues voter. I look at what someone stands for when I vote. I will not vote for candidate for US Senate, Kay Hagan because of the issues. If I lived at the coast, I would not vote for Marc Basnight because of the issues. I ate at his restaurant last week and I can say that he is a much better restauranteur than he is a legislator. His Lone Cedar restaurant has awesome food.

One man I will vote for in a minute because of the issues is Dan Mansell, who is running for the United States Congress. Last year, I interviewed him at length for a column I was going to write. I also invited Bob Etheridge for an interview. Mr. Etheridge's staff did not even respond yes or no to the request.

I have been very critical of Bob Etheridge in this column as well as on the internet. This is not because of anything personal, but because of the issues. I give him credit where credit is due. I am no different with other political figures or leaders. I love Dan Mansell's stances on taxes, energy, defense, and spending. I think he stands as much of a chance of beating Bob Etheridge as a snowball on a hot sidewalk in August, but I applaud him for his efforts and will vote for him nonetheless.

When voting in a couple of weeks, I beg of you to become informed and vote for the best candidates for the nation, state, and county rather than those of your party, racial group, good old boy network, "yellow dog", or preconceived ideas.

Column for Oct. 16, 2008

Johnston County's ETJ law scrutinized at public hearing

I wish that I was able to attend the recent public hearing on the two mile Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) law in Smithfield. Unfortunately, I work the sort of job in which I am a technical support type guy. When there is a problem with the equipment I maintain, I have to go take care of business. Even if I only sit in front of my laptop at home and monitor the progress of rectification, I have to do it. As life would have it, I worked late the night of that public hearing. I had it on my calendar and was ready to go. Then a problem with an upgrade to my company's software caused a major problem with our server, and instantly I was transformed from someone free for the evening to an employee chained to a laptop.

That sort of problem will not be happening to me all this week, however. As you are reading this, I am securely locked away in an undisclosed location with my new bride in our love nest for our honeymoon. God has truly blessed me this year. I wish I could tell more, but that is not what this week's column is about. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I find it disturbing that for a public hearing on something that profoundly effects Johnston County that only one county commissioner took the time to attend. Alan Mims, according to reports, was the only one who thought it worthy of his time. I understand scheduling conflicts and getting bogged down with the day job, as I just described. However, one would think that more than just one commissioner would be there. Our state representative, Leo Daughtry, was there, though. So was J.H. Langdon. Thank you, gentlemen, for your interest and your courtesy.

I have written previously about the ETJ issue. I had given some thought and even made notes about what I would have said at that hearing. Since I was not able to attend in person, I am publishing my public comments for further consideration by our elected representatives.

Most every Monday night, I teach about U.S. history and the Constitution. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, there were many debates about suffrage for the states. Great concern was expressed about being able to be properly represented in both houses of the legislative branch of government. These concerns were well founded, considering the history of the colonial response to England in which the cry of the day was "no taxation without representation".

In our case, citizens outside of the town of Selma are crying "regulation without representation". Taxation is a form of power, so is regulation. At least people in the Selma Fire District, yet outside the town limits get a service for the taxes they pay. Those who happen to live within the ETJ get regulation with no real benefit. They by default would already be within the county's jurisdiction. The county's plan was sufficiently similar to the town's that the town was going to merely adopt the county zoning and redefine it in accordance with corresponding town zoning requirements.

For a town of only 3.5 square miles, as is the case of Selma, to reach its tentacles of control out two full miles beyond its borders is unethical. Why should a town control more than its own square mileage outside of its political borders?

The argument in favor of the ETJ that the ETJ population is entitled to having representation on the town's planning board is fallacious for two reasons. First, the individual(s) chosen to serve on the board are selected by officials that ETJ residents are not able to elect. Second, the planning board has zero authority. None of the decisions taken by the board are binding in Selma and the town council that ETJ representatives can not vote for still has the final say in all matters.

When people are subject to a government that can regulate their lives and subjugate their private property rights with no recourse or choice, it violates the spirit of Article IV section 4 of the United States Constitution, which guarantees a "Republican Form of Government" for each state. In a republic, those who have the rule over the people are chosen by the people. This is not the case if you live in the extra-territorial jurisdiction of a town in North Carolina.

When Johnston County towns are allowed a two mile ETJ because of a 1985 bill written specifically for the county and sneaked in by local legislators while the rest of the state's municipalities have no such authority, it is patently unfair to the rest of the state. A two mile ETJ law, and all ETJ laws for that matter, should be repealed.

Column for Oct. 9, 2008

Right is right, and wrong is wrong. You have heard it for years.

Racism, according to Merriam Webster, is defined as "a belief that race
is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that
racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular
race". That is obviously an erroneous world view and obviously wrong.
I do not care who you are. Notice, however, that the definition does
not refer to cultural or behavioral superiority. There is a huge
difference between race and culture.

Merriam Webster also defines racism as "racial prejudice or
discrimination". That works two ways. It can be a particular race of
people being discriminated against or being discriminatory towards
anyone not of their race.

I despise racism. I don't care whom it is from, in what direction it is
from, or at whom it is aimed. Equally, I despise those who prostitute
race for personal gain. For years, I have watched people like Jesse
Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the NAACP deceptively act as "race pimps" that
exploit the downtrodden of their own race for their own power, for
profit, and fame. Here in North Carolina, the race pimps of the NAACP
are very active.

We heard the NAACP erroneously speak out about racism when Mayor Chucky
Hester made his now infamous lynching comment. I was there in the room,
and in the front row. I know the context and the target of the comment,
and it had nothing to do with race.

The NAACP partnered recently with a bunch of Latino advocacy groups in a
prayer vigil held on the Johnston County Courthouse steps "to pray for
healing and reconciliation in the community" over the off the cuff
remarks by Sheriff Steve Bizzell about illegal immigrants. Of course,
the pimping was done by Rev. William Barber, President of the North
Carolina NAACP. I do not know Rev. Barber, but I find it interesting
that almost all race pimps in the Black community hold the title of
Reverend. In listening to the majority of them speak, I rarely hear the
gospel. That is just an observation in general, not specificity.

One man who I know personally had the guts to stand in support of
Sheriff Bizzell. A local pastor, Leroy Hargett, participated in a
counter protest of sorts, in support of Sheriff Bizzell. I emailed
Leroy after I read the news story, having known him for years. I told
him that I was proud of him for taking a stand for what he believes. He
happens to be on the right side of the issue, and I let him know. Rev.
Hargett happens to be a Black pastor of a predominantly Black
congregation. He not only exercised discernment about right and wrong,
but stood up for what is right. For that, I congratulate him publicly.
He lives right here in Selma, and I am proud to know him as a man of
courage and conviction. It is not easy to stand against another man of
the same faith, especially when he purports to speak on behalf of an
entire race. It is even more difficult when it is the juggernaut of the
NAACP.

The NAACP was out for more power by its recent demonstration this past
Sunday about an event that happened in 1898. People, we are not talking
about the 21st Century, or even the 20th Century. We are talking about
the 19th Century. The race riots in Wilmington were an interesting yet
shameful series of events in North Carolina's history. They are
interesting and shameful, but they were 110 years ago.

The NAACP is demanding that the North Carolina General Assembly make
payments of reparations to descendants of the 14 men who were killed in
the race riots. Tragic and wrong as the deaths were, I find it
inconceivable that the taxpayers of the state should fork out money 110
years after the fact for something done in a single city, not done by
anyone still alive today, and not done to anyone that is contemporary to
our time. This is merely pimping the race issue for personal lucre. If
that is not exploitation of a race and racist issues, I do not know what is.

I have this same disgust for the Arian Nation, The World Church of the
Creator, the KKK, and the numerous Hispanic advocacy groups that have
popped up. If a group is so interested in "healing and reconciliation
in the community" then they need to stop picking at the scab and allow
the great strides against racism that have been made in this nation take
their course. In 1898, did anyone envision a Black man possibly
becoming the President of the United States, as may happen in just a
month? I think not.

Column for Oct. 2, 2008

Bailouts suck

As you may well be aware, the big buzzword in the news today is "bailout". The federal government has been busily creating financial bailouts for mortgage companies, insurance companies, and automobile manufacturers. I have been reading about and commenting upon the various maneuvers that the government has been concocting just within the last couple of weeks. On Monday, The House of Representatives surprisingly defeated a $700 billion dollar package to make the government the largest mortgage holder in the nation. The government has already been bailing out AIG, one of the world's largest insurance companies, and is making $25 billion in loan guarantees to the automobile industry.

Forget the fact that automobile manufacturers have been slow to adapt to the changing economy, to fuel efficiency customer mandates, and have been run into the ground by labor unions. Let us just look at the concept that we as citizens of the United States already support these same companies by our purchases and ongoing maintenance of their flawed products. Now we have to potentially pay for loans to these same incorrigible companies. GM, Ford, and Daimler/Chrysler have all floundered while Toyota has flourished. Because American companies have been too stubborn to change, U.S. taxpayers may eventually have to bail out loans made to these companies. General Motors is on the brink of insolvency and we are stuck paying for their mistakes? I am not much of a GM man, anyway. I have never really liked any GM product I have owned or driven.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are government created entities. They wrote a lot of mortgages themselves and guaranteed mortgages written by other companies. Because of worries about risky mortgages, the United States taxpayer would have been on the hook for the reckless lending practices of mortgage companies that were spurred by government threats of regulation. People who had absolutely no business purchasing houses did so or bought more house than they could afford. Some in Congress along with President Bush wanted the rest of us to foot the bill with a purely socialist move, allegedly to save our economy. Personally, I believe it would have done more harm than good.

If Warren Buffet, the world's richest man and leader of Berkshire Hathaway found it to be a good move to buy Goldman Sachs as a private venture, then I am sure that many more such deals could be reached. If we can allow the private sector to operate in a truly free market economy without government intervention, then every issue could be resolved. Berkshire Hathaway is the epitome of success in such things. Their current holdings include Dairy Queen, GEICO, Helzberg Diamonds, The Pampered Chef, Clayton Homes, Fruit of the Loom, and many other fine companies.

Just looking at the AIG bailout of $85 billion dollars, I found the following. If we take that dollar figure and divide it by the entire United States population of +/- 301,000,000 people, then this represents approximately $282.39 for every man, woman, and child in the nation. Keep in mind that about a third are not even 18 years or older and are not tax payers. Even at that 18 years of age figure, a smaller percentage still actually pay taxes, so the figure is going to be higher per tax payer than that, but for the sake of argument, let's use that $282 figure. That figure represents approximately $44,458,634 to just Johnston County residents, based upon 2007 population figures.

Using the same methodology, the $700 billion package would have cost Johnstonians $366,132,558. The automotive bail out could cost every Johnstonian another $83 for a total of $13,076,162 from our county alone. Just these three bailouts alone would have impacted Johnston County potentially as much as $423,667,354. People, that is a bunch of money. The entire county's annual government operational budget is only $149 million by comparison. Keep in mind that that is based upon the idea of $x per capita, not per tax payer. When you divide out those figures, the total gets much higher per person.

When is this going to stop? I do not know. I guarantee that though the $700 billion bailout failed in The House of Representatives, it will come up again. We spend a bunch of money overseas in foreign wars, building foreign nations, policing the world, paying people to not work here at home, we pay farmers not to grow crops, and now the government is trying to pay businesses for failure. It all ends up on the backs of the United States tax payers. If we keep trying to save mortgage companies and mortgagees, we would have mortgaged the future of our children by saddling them with a huge debt with socialist policies and bad economic decisions. Whether through political courage or cowardice, at least one gigantic spending bill failed with a 228-205 vote to reject the bill. We'll see it come up again.

Column for Sept. 25, 2008

So Selma finally has a new Town Manager. Richard Douglas does seem to have an impressive résumé. Along with that résumé, however, expect impressive results.

The Town Manager serves at the whim of the Town Council. This means two things. First, he/she can be hired and fired at the Council's bidding. Next, it means that the employee is subservient to the Council and should take direction on administration while at the same time providing expertise to the Council for their authoritative decision taking.

Looking back, I see that we have had several town managers with diverse personalities and methods. Bruce Radford, now in Apex, was a bit more flamboyant and outgoing. Jeff White was much more reserved, and despite the heavy criticism he received, still served at the direction of the town council and mayor. Stan Farmer and I got along well and I thought he carried out his financial mission well, but I found him a bit obsequious, often afraid to offer a strong opinion. My interactions with interim Manager, C.L. Gobble have shown him to be articulate and knowledgeable, yet bold enough to offer insight and be contrarian if necessary.

I remember when the town laid off the entire Planning Department a few years ago. In talking to Mr. Gobble at the last Planning Board meeting, I learned that there were a lot of planning items left lacking with Stan Farmer's departure. Whether that was because of the lack of a planning department, the lack of planning expertise, or because of Mr. Farmer's general work load, I do not know for sure. What I do know is that Selma is only 3.5 square miles in territory and can not be so swamped with planning issues as to backlog the town's progress. After all, we do have plenty of Planning Board meetings get canceled because of a lack of agenda.

I recently got notice that the Planning Board would not be meeting this month until the new Town Manager and Planning Director are in place. I wonder, however, if these two positions need to remain and the same. If our interim Town Manager can push through the new Walgreen's project with it never coming to the Planning Board for a formal vote or review (not that the Planning Board has any authority whatsoever other than to recommend action to the Council either in the affirmative or negative), then I wonder about needing a separate employee to do so.

Jeff White was paid in the low 70,000 dollar range, if memory serves correctly. Stan Farmer was paid in the sixties to start. We just hired a new manager for $90,000 per year, and Mr. Douglas has a Master's Degree in planning as well as a good amount of experience in that field, from what I read in this very newspaper. If we are going to hire someone for that much money more than we were previously offering, and we are now in a time of an economic slow down, then I believe that we, as tax payers should expect more for our dollars, which are harder to come by. This is especially true when we have been hit with nearly a dime's increase per $100 valuation in property tax with another property valuation coming around the corner.

I have seen towns with a lot more square miles and close to 100,000 population paying not much more than what we in little old Selma will be paying for our new manager. Don't get me wrong, I do not begrudge any man getting as much salary as he can negotiate. This is absolutely nothing personal with Richard Douglas, since I do not know him and probably have never met him before. It is, however, an issue of public trust. My mortgage escrow rate just went up because of a higher tax rate (again), I see areas of neglect in town (as I have previously addressed in this very column), and yet I see that we are going to pay well over a third more in salary to our next Town Manager than we did our last one. For that, I expect more effort and customer service. We, the citizens, are the customers.

One request that I would have for Mr. Douglas as he starts his new job is not to allow the political bullying that we have seen in this town for the past three years push him too far. I would hope that he would not let strong personalities railroad him into taking wrong decisions or going contrary to what he knows to be the proper course of action according to Selma's best interest. I would hope that he would show the same degree of boldness shown by Mr. Gobble and speak on behalf of the taxpayers, the future of the town, and not be obsequious.

Column for Sept. 18, 2008

So called "racial profiling" is a misnomer and is not necessarily a bad thing

Well, the saga of Sheriff Steve Bizzell just keeps getting better and better. Now our old "friends", the NAACP and the ACLU are attempting to investigate Sheriff Bizzell's department to see if he is guilty of "racial profiling" in law enforcement efforts.

Folks, I do not care who you are, there is common sense that must be in play. When I look at airport security efforts, I see the effects of political correctness run amuck. Little old ladies and toddlers are being screened as if they are in the same class as young Muslim males. The last I looked, no terrorist acts were perpetrated by mad grannies or diaper wearing children. As of this writing, there have been 11,849 deadly terror attacks perpetrated by Muslim males, usually of Middle Eastern descent just since September 11th, 2001. This does not take into account the events of 9/11, the USS Cole, the first World Trade Center bombing, and a host of other acts. The point is that it makes sense to look to a certain group if they are the ones primarily responsible for crime and acts of war and not those who do not fit the profile.

It makes sense to me that if our population of illegal aliens has been growing and the crime rate also grew disproportionate to the overall population of the group compared to the whole county, then there would be a reason to profile. If 30% of all DWI arrests (and those are just the ones caught) are from about 14% of the overall population, then there is a reason to pay heavier scrutiny to that population. Hence, Sheriff Bizzell's success in lowering the crime rate in Johnston County.

If there is a group of people who are known to violate the law (not including making the first illegal step on American soil by crossing the Rio Grande), then it makes sense to enforce the laws where the violators are known to be. If there is a bar where a lot of Gringos (White guys) are known to congregate and drive drunk after visiting the establishment, then I would hope that Sheriff Bizzell and other local law enforcement would constantly frequent that spot until all violators are caught or they simply cease said behavior. It just makes sense.

My previous columns and expressed opinions have drawn a lot of commentary from readers. One just this past week said (direct quote, so spelling errors and grammatical mistakes left as delivered to me). For the record, this comes from a Black man who takes issue with Sheriff Bizzell.

"Troy..I'm not trying to insult you…I'll explain it to you this way...Bizell's apology expalins that he didn't mean to talk about all mexican people..there are law abiding mexicans..just like there are law abiding black people..and black people who are jerks...and white people who are crazy..and whte people who are great. But I can't buy into hating a whole race of people..sorry man. There's no need to repeat mistakes of the past. Sorry..but it's a lot deeper than you make it out out to be..especially for people of color. I'm not going to argue with you about it. It's something you'll never understand, which isn;t a bad thing...it's just your point of view. But I served my country to protect the freedom of all americans and the flag that flies over this nation promises freedom for all. there. I have enough sense to know right from wrong and hating people based on color or race is wrong. The underlying thing is racism. If I say all white people in johnston county have wrecks on i-95 and have atv accidents..that's not accurate...and it would be racist. I hope you can understand why..if not..let me know I'll suggest some books you can read to get a better understanding."

I sympathize with the man in that he has a victim's mentality, which is hard to shake off. However, I do believe that there are things that transcend race. Behavior is not race based. It is culturally or personally taught and has nothing to do with the color of one's skin. It is not an issue of skin but is often an issue of sin. I have never been fond of those who see everything through the lens of racism and especially those who profit off the fears and race fears of others, such as the NAACP.

Here was my reply to the gentleman with a few edits for the sake of brevity and for a few details that would reveal identity. The individual is a fellow member of the media and would be known to some readers had I mentioned his name.

"I wholeheartedly disagree with your assumption that it is all about racism. Not everyone who hates to see 52% of our school growth come from people who are here illegally, see one third of our DWI rate come from people who are here illegally, see our emergency rooms packed with non-English speaking people who are not here legally and are ripping off our system for free health care that we are paying for, or just plain have a problem with people breaking the law are inherently racist.

I can't stand young men who walk around with their boxer shorts showing and their pants around the cracks of their butt or lower. Does that make me racist? No, it makes me someone who has respect for our society rather than be obnoxiously offensive to the rest of the community in defiant fashion.

I do not and can not ever support a candidate such as Barack Obama and think that TD Jakes' endorsement of him is racist. Does that make ME racist? No, it makes me observant and one who stands for principles in the candidate of his choice. For the record, I have strongly supported people like Allan Keyes and Clarence Thomas because of the principles for which they stand. I could not care less about a person's skin color. I care about character.

I understand the racism cry all too well. I run across it routinely from people who find it behind every tree, every comment, every action... When I make a comment based upon common sense and rational observation, I get the accusation hurled at me.

I spent the better part of a week listening to a disciple of Martin Luther King, Jr. scream at me and a few of my coworkers about how we are inherently racist because we are White. I have heard it all over the years, just in different forms and from different sources.

Yes, I can understand it. When I first moved to NC, I got flack from both Whites and Blacks. I was a big White guy from New England. I got the comments from the rednecks that I was not from around here and I got the hate from some Blacks that I was a big White guy and therefore worthy of hate. Racism comes from BOTH sides and is never unilateral.

When I was ordained by an all Black church (the only White boy there) do you think I gave a whit about what color the skin was of my fellow brethren? Heck, no. I cared about what we had in common.

I spend time talking to a lot of people, having a background in media. I was in radio for years, have been an active blogger, have been active in politics, a columnist, and a few other interests. That has gotten me involved with a lot of civic leaders, it has caused me to meet a lot of star athletes, politicians, actors, writers, and high profile preachers. I often get to spend time with some of the leaders, especially. I have run across a lot of LEGAL immigrants who are now elected officials and heads of advocacy groups that think exactly as Steve Bizzell does in terms of the blight upon our society caused by rampant illegal immigration. Are you going to claim that Honduran, Peurto Rican, and Cuban men I have met and fellowshipped (even teamed up with to lobby our lawmakers in Raleigh on immigration issues affected by NC legislation) are themselves racist? No, they are about the rule of law. They want illegal immigrants to be as legal as they were and follow the rules, too. But let a White man say that and he is racist?

Take a drive with me sometime to the same trailer parks that Steve Bizzell [referred to]. Stay at my house on a weekend and see the chickens running around in the yard of a home rented by illegal aliens while they drink beer, do the laundry on their front porch, let the grass grow two feet high, and play Mariachi music until after 1 AM. Visit my town where 60% of the residents are renters, not homeowners, having no respect for the taxes paid or cost of government. Come with me to my 5 year old's kindergarten class and see how 60% of his classmates are Hispanic, mostly the children of illegal aliens that do not speak English, are anchor babies, their parents do not pay taxes here, I am furnishing the classroom supplies because their parents refuse to buy them for their own kids, they are getting free lunch while I pay full price and in actuality, pay for their kids' lunches, too. Is any of that racist? Hardly. It is called simple economics, common sense, and respect for America and society. To find a racist thread in that is looking for goblins where there are none.

Why can one not refer to a problem with a particular group of problematic population without it being deemed racist? Bizzell used the term "trashy". Considering that I have plenty of trashy relations, I can definitively say as Forrest Gump would have, "trashy is as trashy does". Does that make me racist? No, just observant."

Obviously, I encourage Sheriff Bizzell to continue in his efforts in law enforcement, regardless of the ethnicity of the perpetrators involved.

Column for Sept. 11, 2008

There are some things for which our sheriff should not apologize

The past couple of weeks, I wrote about Selma becoming a third world nation, being a microcosm of the entire United States. This is reflective of what the US will become if we do not get a handle on immigration issues amongst other things. I shared some feedback from column readers and have even gotten more in the mail since last week. Thanks to all who wrote, by the way.

Apparently, our county sheriff agrees with me and has taken some heat for his impassioned stance. Steve Bizzell has been under fire for saying that "Mexicans are trashy" and that the illegal immigrant population is "breeding like rabbits". Steve is not alone in his thoughts.

Sheriff Bizzell did apologize for his comments, which were made in an interview with a large regional newspaper based in Raleigh, the name of which, like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies, can not be spoken (or in this case, written). He said, "I made broad statements that reflected on the legal and law-abiding Hispanic population – that was never my intention".

Obviously, I personally have made comments in this very column that reflect the same thoughts of some immigrants being "trashy". I make no apologies for that, nor should I. As Forrest Gump might say, "My mamma always says, trashy is as trashy does." Believe me when I say that there are trashy people who are kin to me. Trashy is a behavior, an attitude, and often is embedded in a culture. Unfortunately, many Hispanic immigrants to the United States bring their third world culture and ways with them, refusing to assimilate into the American culture. Furthermore, they often carry a blatant disrespect and disregard for America, seeking only to benefit from her hospitality and liberality offered them here rather than taking responsibility for the welfare of their new communities.

In Sheriff Bizzell's apology, he did say that he did make broad statements. Like Steve, I do not have a problem with law abiding and legal immigrants. I don't care where they are from or what they look like. All I care is that they come here legally, abide by our laws, and do not trash our country. One particular Hispanic advocate, however, is livid with Sheriff Bizzell's words, even saying he "wants his badge".

The call for Bizzell's resignation is out of line, but that is what I expect from selfish people. Being an advocate for illegal immigrants is like lobbying for the right to drive while intoxicated, in my opinion. There is always a self-interest in such advocacy.

This summer, I got the opportunity to meet with the founder of the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee and with the founder of The Minuteman Project. I joined these two men for a morning of lobbying lawmakers in Raleigh to support an agenda that is hostile to illegal immigration. That day, I also got to meet representatives from two different organizations that were founded by Hispanics and vehemently oppose illegal immigration.

Like the advocate who wants Sheriff Bizzell's badge for his comments, Roan Garcia-Quintana is an immigrant from Cuba whom I had the pleasure of meeting. Roan works with the organization "Americans Have Had Enough!" which is on the internet at americanshavehadenough.org. Roan is a legal immigrant, now living in South Carolina. He has been very active in state government there and has been elected to the SC Legislature. Another man I met is Lee Nieves, from the Charlotte area, who is a Hispanic man affiliated with the organization "You Don't Speak for Me", found on the internet at dontspeakforme.org. They are both staunch advocates for sealing the American borders and coming down hard on illegal immigration. They believe just like Sheriff Bizzell that the American culture is being polluted by illegal immigrants, that illegal immigrants do not belong here, that our society is in danger from the increased crime by these people, and that they are multiplying like rabbits.

Sheriff Bizzell, I have read your comments. I have read your apology. I have read the comments on the internet by web readers of the publication in which you were quoted. I agree that your initial comments may have been broad, but trashy is as trashy does. Your eyes simply bear testimony to what is. That is the bottom line. You see more of it than most citizens, since you deal with the crime problems, help with deportation, and have a responsibility for the public well being.

Steve, I have been one of your strongest advocates for years. That is not to say that I agree with all of your decisions. I personally have one issue with you, feeling that you violated the United States Constitution on a few things. That is a major issue in my view, though overall I think your job performance has been outstanding. You need not apologize for stating the obvious. Like the many legal immigrants I know personally, you abhor illegal immigration, the crime perpetrated by those who started out their journey in this nation with their first covert and illegal step across our border, and the disregard for our laws and our culture. You hate paying for anchor babies and the cost to our society. For that, never apologize. Just keep working and hammering away at the mountain of the problems caused by illegal immigrants with your pick axe.

Column for Sept. 4, 2008

Last week's column evoked some interesting feedback from readers

It would seem that my column last week struck a chord or assent or dissent with some people. I have received some interesting feedback from readers this week. As much as I would love to comment on the Republican's error of making their convention short because of an impending hurricane or the brilliant selection of a gun toting beauty queen as a vice presidential running mate for John McCain, I will stick with the current train of thought.

I wrote last week about the possibility of Selma becoming like a third world nation if we do not take the reins of our own town and protect our American culture and town from degradation. Selma is just a microcosm of the rest of the nation. Apparently, that idea has really registered with some folks. Therefore I asked permission to share some commentary from readers. I believe strongly in using spell check functions in my email and word processor. However, I am preserving the format of the messages as they were delivered on purpose.

The first commentary I received was from someone who only identified him or herself as "royalblkrose".

"This issue is not new or news to Selma, Berkeley, Jacksonville. Take your pick of cities and it's the same issues. Immigrants, looking for a better life bring with them the only life they know.. the one they left, with all of its' oddities. Cities, states and the country are in an ethical fix where these new aliens are concerned. On the one hand, there' cheap labor. Cheap labor is good for employers but bad for employees, Because another component of cheap labor is IGNORANT labor. Most immigrants are not aware of their rights in the workplace, and because they are illegals, they will work under any and all condtions in fear of losing what little they do have.On the other hand, once they do know their rights, it then becomes harder for these immigrants to keep their jobs because they know their rights and it is therefore more expensive to have these individuals on the payroll! Don't believe me? Ask any Union rep what happens when an employee speaks up when something's out of whack!One of the worst things that happend in this country was when air traffic controllers union was busted and NAFTA was signed, giving large manufacturers a legal reason not to invest in keeping skilled people in the states working.just a couple of thoughts...."

My response to "royalblkrose" was the following:

"One of the major issues, as I have written, is the losing of the American culture. I absolutely agree that this is not new to my town. Keep in mind that the article was specifically written as a newspaper column for the local newspaper, so I have a local centric perspective in my writing. This is, however, as you pointed out, just a microcosm of the rest of the nation. The issue is lack of assimilation. I grew up in a French family. Though there was still a Quebecois mindset and French was spoken in the grandparent's home, they assimilated into the culture. It is the absolute accommodation and coddling of immigrants to woo a potential voting block or to succumb to political correctness that is killing this nation and will put us in a position of weakness, lack of unity, and a perpetually schismatic means of living."

Someone who called himself "ColdWarBaby" had this to say:

"The assimilation of immigrants also means being prepared to pay them at least minimum wage and perhaps even provide minimal benefits and marginally safe working conditions. This would not be good for the “economy” as it’s defined by fascist capitalism. Once u.s. workers have been reduced to accepting the same working conditions as those in china, mexico or vietnam, the “illegal aliens” will be gone.If the ruling class has its way, property values will be of little concern. Only they will be allowed to own real property. The only way a laborer will be allowed access to private property will be as a menial, a slave. Workers will be confined to labor camps or factory barracks, out of sight, out of mind.This is the Utopia of fascist corporatism, a world of masters and slaves."

I found the commentary by ColdWarBaby interesting. I replied to him or her this way.

"No, the assimilation of immigrants does not mean paying them minimum wage. They are here ILLEGALLY to begin with. They are not entitled to the same protections under the law, nor the benefit of citizens or even migrant laborers here legally. Period. Once we enforce our existing laws, protect our borders, value our culture, and stop committing national suicide, the illegal immigrants will stop coming. It is ridiculous to think that our standard of living would have to lower to their level in order to keep them from showing up. Your assumption that a ruling class believes that property values are of little concern is fallacious for several reasons. First, the revenue that the ruling class obtains is through valuation of property and taxation thereupon. Furthermore, their property would be subject to the same eventual fate of others, whether it is lower taxation value, lower retail value and profit margin, lower rental rates, lower dividends on investments, or even eminent domain. Fascist corporatism? Whatever."

I got one last commentary from someone who asked not to be identified, so I am editing out any information that would reveal clues as to the writer's identity.

"I look forward to reading your weekly commentaries in the selma news. I pass thru selma daily and sometimes stop at a couple stores on my way home, honestly i am looking over my shoulder the whole time i'm there…i cannot believe all the crime that goes on around selma,it is unreal. The infrastructure of most of the town reminds me of something i seen on a ghetto movie,it really needs a makeover. I know the people that have been here all their lives hate to see all the crime that goes on ,and to me it seems like an attraction for all the mexicans as you wrote about this week. I'm not saying all the drugs come from mexicans but a large part of them do,then that gets on the streets and leads to more crimes such as robberies etc. i believe to get the town back as it was before all the drug and criminal activity, it starts with town officials taking and showing action instead of just talking about it. I realize it is not just selma it is everywhere,but since i moved here and started reading your articles it has opened my eyes. well i've been on my soap box long enough now. I look forward to reading your future articles."

As you can tell, not everyone who reads my columns necessarily agrees with me. I enjoy reading from people on both sides of an issue, generally. Many people are interested in civil discourse. Others are merely interested in bashing. Fortunately, this week's feedback has been from those who chose to be civil but wanted to express themselves in response to my ramblings. I have gotten a lot of hate mail, as well as fan mail over the past two years. Some of the hate mail has been full of anger. With some people, I have been able to engage in meaningful dialogue. Some have simply been spiteful; others had their say and I never heard from them again, even after answering their emails. Rest assured that if your email hits my inbox, I am willing to respond.

What are your views? Do you have opinions about my column, about a news story, or about how things are in your community? If so, I encourage you to write. Even better, I encourage you to write your opinion as a letter to the editor of this very newspaper. I don't always like being the sometimes the only opinion on the editorial page, even if I am always correct in what I have to say.

Column for Aug. 27, 2008

Are we letting Selma become a third world nation?

I truly want Selma to become "A Charming Place to Be". I am sure most of us who pay attention and especially pay taxes want that for our little town. Sometimes I wonder if this can be accomplished, though. Recent observations make me wonder. After visiting the homes and neighborhoods of friends in Garner and Clayton and then coming home to Selma, I wonder if we can be so charming.

The past couple of weeks have given me some interesting views from the comfort of my own little quarter acre of land. Right across the street from me live some immigrants of dubious legality. There have been some loud parties with plenty of cerveza and Mariachi music until 1 AM. There are chickens running around in their yard (which is contrary to town ordinance), and they do not go to the laundry mat. Instead, they hand wash their clothing in a tub on the front porch, dump out the wash water, and hang their wet laundry on the fence in the back yard. They allow their two or three year old daughter to run around stark naked in their yard and in the inflatable wading pool.

I applaud the industrious nature of the woman of the house in washing clothes. I am just glad that I am not the neighbor with whom she shares a fence. The chickens have not been seen quite as much the past couple of days, so I wonder if they ended up on the grill. I have no problem with little naked children in the privacy of one's own home or way out in the country. Bath time with my five year old features a little naked bottom running around my house. Such is the beauty of having children. He just is not allowed to do that in public, or even in my front yard.

If someone drove through my neighborhood looking for a new home and saw chickens, naked toddlers, a Mexican beer bash, laundry being done on the front porch and/or tossed over the fence, I would be looking elsewhere.

A few other things of which I took note are that the town recently did some tree work right next door. The tree was probably dying in some areas and needed to come down, not to mention being a threat to the power lines. I was quite honestly glad to see the town taking down the old tree. It is a remnant of the whole streetscape concept from a half century ago, so I hear. It demonstrates what can happen to nice ideas for which follow through and long term planning have been neglected.

The tree was taken down section by section, and I could feel the entire house shake when trunks and branches hit the ground. It was a sizable tree trunk. Now there is a sizable stump in the front yard of the neighboring house. There are huge gouges in the lawn of the affected lot from falling branches. The sidewalk has been smashed and a large sink hole is in the sidewalk. I have personally stumbled in it a few times while walking my dog.

I have often lamented the lack of sidewalk maintenance in this town. I find it to be a worse liability than some old, rusted water tower that stood vacant for decades and was torn down two years ago. I used to do risk management and liability mitigation as part of my career. Instead of making the sidewalk better, the town has left the sidewalk in worse shape than it was with the tree standing in place and created a greater walking surface hazard than existed previously, not to mention an unsightly blight upon the already ugly sidewalk and often uncut lawn. I am thinking about going to the tree trunk and counting the rings to find out just how long ago that tree has been neglected. The big, ugly stump and pulverized sidewalk have been there for a few weeks now.

If I was driving around town looking for a new home in a charming place to be, saw the big old tree stump sticking out of the ground, the knee high grass of the abandoned home in front of which the tree was removed, and walked on a broken, sunken sidewalk, I would think twice about buying in Selma. I know that I would certainly think that Selma had become a third world nation if people have to do laundry on a porch in a scrub bucket, there is knee high grass, and chickens roam the streets and sidewalks. I would think that the town does not take care of its infrastructure if I saw the broken sidewalks and a stumpy streetscape.

One aforementioned issue is because of allowing third world illegal aliens to invade our nation. We are in danger of losing our culture if we neglect our duties to the nation, to the rule of law, and have to "press one for English" constantly. We are in danger of losing potential residents if we neglect the enforcement of tall grass ordinances and laws against barnyard animals in the town limits. We are in danger of losing our infrastructure and liability lawsuits if we do not take care of our town assets such as sidewalks and public walking surfaces.

I know we can do a better job as a town. I commented a few months ago upon the strategic plan, as proffered by the mayor's planning committee. The plan had rightly listed a lot of strengths and weaknesses of the town. These are a few of the weaknesses we have, which are mostly self inflicted or inflicted upon us. A little extra effort in enforcement, in making Selma an unpleasant place for illegal immigrants to reside, and in taking care of our own town property can go a long way towards improvements in making Selma "a charming place to be".

Column for Aug 21, 2008

Leave your self righteousness at home and Oktoberfest alone

I know that this is not going to be a popular subject with many readers, but I have never been one to shy away from tough topics. I am going to deal with personal opinions and "sacred cows", so to speak.

Months ago, I was pleased to see the Selma Town Council give their vote of support for Edelweiss Cafe here in town to put on an annual Oktoberfest. Edelweiss is a unique restaurant with a unique cultural flavor and flair. Having been to Germany and experienced some of the culture, I fully appreciate what Steve Reed has done with his restaurant. Later, the town council decided to wait for a full public hearing on the changing of an ordinance that would permit the sale of alcohol on town property, such as on a closed off Raiford Street. That delay almost cost the town the festival this year, since there was a lot of money and planning on the line in order to pull off the event. Fortunately, the town council decided to pass an ordinance that would allow the sale of beer on the street. The ordinance has tight restrictions, and the proposed event had the same sorts of controls over the distribution and consumption of alcohol.

When I first moved to Johnston County, we were effectively a "dry county", with sumptuary laws that disallowed sales of liquor by the drink. It was fine for the county itself to sell liquor apparently, just not bars to serve it. That was a huge double standard. What that meant was the one could only find a limited number of restaurants in the area. Johnston County had plenty of barbeque and fast food joints, but nothing like Outback, Texas Steakhouse, Applebee's, or even Sweetwater's when they were in business. I lamented the lack of restaurant selection for a long time. I moved to Johnston County after living in North Hills in Raleigh for years, and was quite used to upper quality dining establishments.

I remember that I worked for the local radio station in town when the subject of liquor by the drink was up for discussion. A local pastor who ran the radio station argued against the passing of the law on reasons of temperance and a feared rise of DWI and resulting fatalities from automobile collisions. Of course sumptuary laws (prohibition) in the United States did not work out so well after the passing of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Well meaning but misguided Christians (primarily Protestant) and temperance organizations lobbied hard for their version of holiness to be forced upon everyone in the entire nation. That lasted only thirteen years before the 18th Amendment was repealed, but not before thousands of people died from the black market forces and organized crime created by the sudden illegality of alcohol manufacturing, distribution, and consumption. Al Capone made millions of dollars from his illegal distilling operations. Similar laws failed miserably in Canada, Russia, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Ironically, Muslim nations often impose harsh penalties for violation of prohibition laws even today. And yet many Christian ministers are critical of Islam (as am I) for their intolerance to any paradigm other than their own.

The same sort of false holiness was pitched to the Selma Town Council in the form of opposition to the ordinance change to allow such alcohol sales "for the public good" by local clergy. I find it interesting that the very people who preach about the first miracle of Jesus, turning water into wine, are the same people who want to limit or prevent anyone from access to the same beverage or others like it. I have had the theological discussion with ministers on the "evils" of alcohol consumption. However, the very nature of the concept of temperance is not abstinence, but the avoidance of excess. I have seen ministers who argued tooth and nail against alcohol preach a fiery sermon then go eat like cultured hogs. That not only is hypocritical, but is gluttony, and the antithesis of temperance. The Apostle Paul warned us to "be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess", not to abstain from wine all together. The Corinthians were admonished for getting drunk during communion, not against imbibing said beverage. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, not control of others in the name of the public good. If it was not a sin for two thousand years of church history to consume alcohol, except in those circles in which busy bodies wished to foist their personal convictions upon others. It certainly is not for the reason of properly interpreted scripture. I am not much on mass consumption of alcohol, but I usually do choose the wine over the grape juice each Sunday during communion just to stand by two thousand years of church tradition.

I have long heard it said that when it comes to dealing with the faith, we should handle things thusly: in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity. This is one of those areas in which pet doctrines can be muscled upon others in the name of holiness or public good, since it is easy to fall for the concept. Nobody who is highly moral believes that drunkenness is a righteous thing. Furthermore, I have seen some build a case from the Bible, however unfounded or inapplicable the verses turned out to be, especially when placed in their proper contextual setting. The consumption of alcohol in and of itself is not sinful, nor is it righteous to attempt to ban others from partaking therein. There are some explicit and obvious truths that are issues of sin and appropriate public policy, such as prohibiting the slaughter of innocent life. Prohibiting someone from having a beer in downtown Selma at a well regulated event is not one of those obvious truths. If to you imbibing alcohol is a sin, then to you it is sin, according to the Bible. That does not mean that your personal conviction is good public policy or holy, much less applicable to others.

Column for Aug. 14, 2008

I have heard for almost two years about a possible new large shopping center coming to town at exit 97 and Hwy 70 near JR's. The major story was on the front page of last week's paper about the proposed project. Originally, the rumor was that a Home Depot and maybe a Target store were coming. Recently, I have heard more rumors. As you may have read, the developer has made a presentation to the town council.

The developer mentioned possible tenants such as Target, Bass Pro Shop, Cabellas, JC Penney, and IKEA, along with up-scale restaurants and motels. Keep in mind that these are just suggested possibilities. I am all for such a development, so don't get me wrong. However, keep in mind at this point, the developer is selling the idea and soliciting to get $15 million or so in reimbursements from the town for infrastructure improvements.

Personally, I am dubious over the claim of a Cabella's. I would absolutely love to have a Cabella's nearby. I may want to live in one. However, one already was proposed for Four Oaks and that project crashed and burned. Cabella's announced that they were going to put one in to Richmond, VA and figured that one here would be too close to their other proposed location. I find that claim fallacious, however. One can look at the map of their existing locations on their web site and shoot holes through that philosophy. I am not going to drive three hours to go to a Cabella's if that is indeed their strategy. If they reconsider Johnston County because of a better location, highway access, and other development, then hallelujah. I would be thrilled with a Bass Pro Shops, as well.

Anyway, this development would certainly be good for the town for several reasons. First, the developer wants to be voluntarily annexed. Great. They would bring a lot of revenue for electricity and water, if development and subsequent tenants were to become Selma utility customers. The tax revenue would be wonderful, but there is a problem - the developer wants 60% of the sales tax revenues generated for 15 years plus a refund of the difference in property tax values between the property taxes now versus the value of the developed land. To me, this is the rub.

I have no problem with the concept that if the entire development and the subsequent businesses are going to be Selma utility customers, that the town needs to extend the utilities to the customers who would be using our services. That is no different to me than the idea of having to extend water and sewer to a subdivision that would be annexed by the town or when Cisco went in it present location.

I do not even have an issue with the concept of sharing in the expense of any other infrastructure such as roadway improvements that will mutually benefit both the town and the developer. I do not consider those things to be corporate welfare. I consider them to be mutually beneficial and the cost of doing business to service customers. I may not like the idea that a town is in business to sell products and services such as water and electricity that are available from private industry, but that is another discussion for another day.

I do, however, consider total reimbursement for all related improvements to be a corporate welfare program. Taxpayer dollars should not be spent on woo a development, especially in an area that they find to be enticing even without our monetary support. If the facilities that the developer is going to build and the prime location are so attractive to the businesses that were bantered about, then it should not be a large risk to the developer. Furthermore, it should add to his revenue and not be the burden of the town.


As a town, we can certainly assist with expediency of zoning, utility, and other regulatory issues. However, I do not believe in paying someone to come to our town, especially for fifteen years.

In the interest of fairness, however, there were previously offered incentives for development in town, such as on East Anderson Street. If we offered them to one party, we should extend the same offer to any other development planners that come along. I may not like it, but fair is fair. As I recall, the offer tendered for that proposed development zone was a tax break for five years, and that included property taxes only.

It will certainly be interesting to see what "develops" in this situation. I am all for development of fallow ground and expanding this area. I am dubious as to the claims that "as much as $500 million in sales tax is leaving the county each year to go to Wake, Wayne, Wilson and Nash counties." That sounds like an excessively high estimate. It is part of the sales pitch.

I do agree with this quote, though. "Dougherty added that Selma is unique in the county in that it is ideally situated to host such a regional complex. He cited I-95 and US 70 and major thoroughfares. He said Exit 98 is excellent for such a complex because it has great access. "There’s no other city right on the an interchange like this," said the developer".

Either way, I am looking forward to seeing the addition to the town.

Column for Aug. 7, 2008

Welkum too edukashun in the Yoonited Statz uv Amerika

When the Selma Elementary School instituted a dress code, I pretty much supported the idea. Even when I was in elementary and high school, there was an expectation of appropriate attire. As I look back at old school pictures, I marvel at the clothes we wore, although they were not as risque as outfits often are today. They were funky looking clothes, but it was, after all, the 1970's. I still chide my mother for dressing me in such weird clothes whenever we look over a photo album together. In high school, I grew up in an area where flannel button shirts, blue jeans, and work boots were normal attire for a large portion of the school year. We wore Buck knives in leather holsters on our hips (just like in "The Dukes of Hazzard") to school every day and never thought anything of it, nor did the school administrators. A Buck knife was seen as a necessary tool, not a weapon. Anyway, rabbit trail aside, I supported the school dress code until recently.

As I had written previously, I have been active in the life of a boy who is now five and about to enter kindergarten. In a couple of months, this boy will become my step-son, so I have an active interest in his success at school and getting him prepared for it. His grandmother took him shopping for some clothes, but you don't generally find school uniforms at Macy's. I took him and his mother to Target last weekend to buy the requisite school clothes and supplies we would need. After all, the school system was kind enough to post the uniform code and school supply list on the internet for us to find (after hunting down the information by surfing a while).

Like I said, I was all for a school dress code. I believe in modest apparel. What I found, however, was that clothes that should be perfectly acceptable by public standards are not necessarily so for school uniforms. The real trick was finding clothing for winter while still in August, of which we found nothing but a few pairs of pants that met the criteria. We did find some polo or golf type shirts. The real problem was finding them in solid colors with no brand logo on them, and in the appropriate size 5. The boy already had some nice, appropriate shirts in his closet, but they had stripes and a Polo logo. Those shirts are plenty nice for church, but not for sending a tot to kindergarten, apparently. We can buy solid shirts in orange, red, blue, purple, black, white, or whatever color we want, but they can not have logos, pockets, or stripes. If the school REALLY was shooting for a school uniform, one style of shirt of one color should be required, but I digress.

For pants, a good looking pair of corduroys or nice, new blue jeans are taboo. Wow, that would have shot my whole school career attire down, except for the bell bottom hound's tooth or plaid pants my mother used to buy me, along with white patent leather belt. I do find the requirement for cotton twill only to be a bit excessive. We are talking about 5 to 10 year olds, not teenagers. For kindergarteners, we are talking about children who just recently learned to wipe themselves after using the bathroom, may have just learned to tie their shoes, and have recently gotten used to the use of forks. They may still often use "sippy cups". Maybe my future step-son is the "Messy Marvin" of his day (wow, that is dating me a bit), but there is extensive clean up after each meal. He play rough with me, his toys, and my dog, so I am dubious about not putting the lad in denim to go to school.

I am not disturbed so much by the cost of adhering to the dress code, though. I would have to buy him new clothes anyway, since he has grown like a weed just since I first got to know him late last year. We did find some $5 polo shirts and $10 pants. It was the exclusivity without adherence to a true uniform standard that sort of annoyed me.

Here is what DID annoy me...the school supply list. Parents are expected to purchase an entire shopping list of materials and simply turn them over to the school at the time of a parental conference. We are expected to furnish brand name crayons, markers, scissors, baby wipes, paper towels, hand sanitizer, Ziploc bags, tissues, dry erase markers, napkins, highlighter markers, index cards, and more. We are not supposed to put the child's name on anything except his change of clothes and his book bag.

I am sorry, but the last time I looked, we still live in America, not the former USSR. Furthermore, I just got my Johnston County property tax bill this week and I am wondering why I am paying all that money in taxes, the school system keeps asking for more money, we constantly are having school bond referendums, and I am being asked to supply basic classroom materials. Does the school not have a janitor? Do they not have cases of paper towels somewhere in that building? Are the teachers not supplied with dry erase markers to write on their boards? Chalk was used in my day, right through college and that worked fine, but I can understand using dry erase boards now. But still, the school system, with all the millions of dollars we are paying in taxes for their operation, should be furnishing something as basic as paper towels. If the school can not afford the materials, I am sure we can afford enough dry erase markers for the entire school system by cutting Superintendent Parker's salary to a reasonable level for what he does for a living. I will do the same job only better for half of what he makes. That is an official offer to the Johnston County Board of Education, by the way. If not that, then one less assistant principal at the elementary school would furnish all the paper towels we would ever need.

Why I mention the USSR is that by confiscating the materials that we are furnishing for the classroom as a whole, we are teaching communism. When I was in kindergarten, all I had to show up with was my daily lunch and/or snack. The rest was taken care of by the school system, which was much smaller than that of Johnston County with a much smaller budget and much older facilities. Furthermore, we learned. We did not have issues in which we did not pass mandates for performance. As a matter of fact, the state where I grew up used to consistently score in the top of the national SAT averages while having the lowest per capita state expenditure per student for education in the country. Thus, I know that education is not a matter of dollars and materials can be furnished for said education.

Sure, when I got older, I had to furnish my own book covers, but an old paper bag from a shopping trip to the A&P did fine. I furnished my own notebooks eventually, but they were MY notebooks for my use alone. By taking the crayons that I purchase and pooling them with that of others, we are employing a communist system. I was told by the office staff that 60% of the students at Selma Elementary are Hispanic and from families in which English is not the primary language. If Jose and Maria can not afford to buy a 27 cent box of Crayolas, that is their problem. It is not my responsibility to furnish their children with crayons, markers, glue, and paper towels. I bought the crayons, so I know how much they cost. I bought my boy some pencils with his name on them some time ago. I surmise that he will not be able to use them at school, since not all children are so named. We are supposed to protect the self esteem of some illegal immigrant children or even some poor family's kids by furnishing them with Crayolas? All this redistribution of school supply wealth has got to be all one big joke, right? That is liberal academia social engineering with lower educational results for you.

First, I am ticked that the schools are not furnishing these supplies after we are constantly being asked to "pony up" an ever increasing amount of tax dollars for their operation. Then I am extremely annoyed that our children are being taught communisitic principles for politically correct reasons. If you can not afford a trip to Wal-Mart or the dollar store for your child to bring his/her own supplies and not take from others, then I suggest that you forgo that next DVD purchase, 12 pack of beer, tattoo addition, or carton of cigarettes and buy some 22 cent glue sticks and crayons (at least the non big named crayons were 22 cents, but the school specifically requested the five cent higher Crayola brand). Better yet, let the school system slash its over bloated bureaucracy and maybe we could afford to buy the needed supplies instead of double taxing us by demanding a grocery list of supplies before the first day of school. It gets better, though. We were informed that we will be furnished an additional supply list later. Doggone communists of academia. I miss America.

Column for July 31, 2008

Are wastewater reclamation efforts actually bad for the American family?

I read with interest recently about how the Town of Benson was going to move forward with a three million dollar waste water reclamation and recycling project. The US Department of Agriculture is lending Benson $886,000 towards building an eight mile wastewater reclamation pipeline to one customer. The customer, a plant nursery, would use the water for irrigation of decorative and other non food source vegetation. Other possible future use could be for watering golf courses, sod production irrigation, and pasture lands.

Water reclamation is not a bad idea. I am all for recycling used water, often called "gray water" for purposes of irrigation, construction, and other non-potable purposes. If the water is just going to waste anyway, then I say it is a great move to do so. However, I have a slight problem with the US government paying for a small town like Benson to build a pipeline to reclaim said water for the benefit of one customer and the hope of adding more. Why should people in Arkansas or California be contributing to the project here in North Carolina?

Projects like this are what I consider to be pork barrel spending. Sure, some people may benefit. However, it is not the job of the federal government to act like an unending pool of money to be siphoned off for special or experimental projects.

When building or expanding the town's water supply is the time to innovate and include the gray water reclamation lines. I remember that the proposed ethanol plant in Selma was planning on using gray water for its plant. However, there was no such line or reclamation efforts existing anywhere. One would have to be built from the far side of Smithfield all the way in to Selma's fringes. That of course would have been funded by tax dollars in one form or another.

Government grants are TAX DOLLARS. Never forget that fact. Whenever some town applies for a grant to revitalize its downtown, for people to renovate their homes, or whatever, we are talking about tax dollars. Multiply those local expenditures times the tens of thousands of other communities in this nation and you can see why we have such a huge budget in our federal government.

Government loans are probably even worse than grants. Why do I say that? Because the federal government taxes us citizens to get the capital. Then they turn around and lend it to municipalities like Selma or Benson, as is the case in this instance. Then the town has to pay back borrowed tax dollars with funds it derives from...yup, you guessed it, tax dollars. In essence, we are being taxed twice for the same funding.

The federal government has no business being in the lending industry. It has no business redistributing the wealth of its citizens. People wonder why I am passionate about such waste and why I decry it so. It is because it truly impacts each and every tax payer in this nation. There are some who pay no taxes. Even people who pay very little taxes often get back more money than they paid the government by nature of the earned income tax credit and the recent tax rebate incentive package.

In the 1950's, women were primarily stay at home mothers and wives. The man of the house went to work in the morning and came home in the evening. They usually lived comfortably on one salary. Nowadays, that is virtually impossible for many Americans. It means that more and more families can not survive on a single income so now both parents have to work. It means that children are placed in day care so that a stranger can raise the children instead of their own parents. It means that there is a lot more economic pressure that stresses out couples and fractures their marriages. It means that women have lost the sense of femininity and compete with men in the work place instead of glorying in the role of a mother that they were created to perform. It means that the high taxation rates have short changed our youth instead of helping them. It means that welfare queens can have more babies and get more money instead of marrying a man and settling down. It undermines the family. The ironic thing is that such pork barrel spending is intended to benefit the population it destroys by driving the cost of government and subsequently taxation higher and higher.

I am not adverse to spending money on actual infrastructure projects that benefit everyone. For instance, I saw a lot of apparently sewer line construction going on in my neighborhood over the past few weeks. That is something we need to maintain since it serves a vital interest of the entire town. I am all for improvements and replacements when needed. A gray water pipeline, however, would not benefit most citizens, much less all of them. It would be a small population deriving benefits from the pockets of the majority. That is why we have so much spending in our nation and why we can not have "The Donna Reed Show" type family arrangement anymore. The squeeze has been put on the traditional family model and that foundation has been cracking for decades now.

Column for July 24, 2008

Usually, I am the one asking questions. Not today.

It is hard to believe that this column concludes two full years of writing this column here at "The Selma News". I wish to offer my sincere gratitude to you, the readers. Whether you like my opinions or hate them, I thank you. I have gotten a lot of feedback over the last two years. Much was positive, a lot was negative. All I care is that you have been reading, which is both humbling and stimulating to me at the same time. I also wanted to thank Rick Stewart, the editor of this paper, for the extraordinary opportunity he gave to this big, ol' opinionated shmoe.

Being what is commonly referred to as a conservative individual, I run across a good many people of like minded passions and beliefs. Since I am very active on the internet, I tend to interact with people from all over the country and world. Recently, I was contacted by someone who runs a web site that opposes John McCain's election to the Presidency. The owner asked to interview me about my views on John McCain. Since I have shared my view points on Barack Hussien Obama, I wanted to share some of my views on John McCain, for the sake of equality. Here is the content of the interview.

Q: How would you self-identify politically? What are your general opinions about the role of government?

A: I would identify myself as a classic liberal. The term libertarian could be used, just not referring to the political party so named. Some would use the term conservative. I am probably most closely aligned with the likes of Barry Goldwater in most of my political philosophies with a few exceptions. I am not affiliated with any party at present.

The purpose of government is fairly well enumerated in the preamble of the US Constitution at the federal level. "...establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity". Other than that, there is not much need for government. Highways ensure liberty and the general welfare. Welfare programs do not. Courts ensure justice. Hate crime legislation does not, nor do laws such as Sarbaines-Oxley or McCain-Feingold. Maybe I just made that clear as mud.

However, I also find a good definition in Romans 13:1-4 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil."

Government is there for the purpose of ensuring that the evil doers are punished, protecting those that do good. Government is something invented by God himself and therefore should be taken as something sacred rather than for personal gain.

Q: What are your reasons for opposing the candidacy of John McCain?

A: John McCain is not a "conservative", if I am to pick a term. He may have filled Barry Goldwater's seat in the Senate, but he is no Goldwater. He tends to be weak on items such as border security, the farce of global warming, on free speech (see previous comment on McCain-Feingold) rights, and wants to grant amnesty to millions of law breakers who entered this nation illegally, thus opposing the justice and common defense issues of the purpose of government.

Q: Do you advocate any of the other candidates as an alternative? If so, why? If not, why not?

A: My main support would be for either Ron Paul or Chuck Baldwin. Baldwin is on the Constitution Party ticket and will never win. Ron Paul will not win the GOP nomination and has little support from the mainstream of the party. Ron Paul, though I disagree with him on some policy issues such as our presence in Iraq, is the ONLY candidate who truly supported liberty and a return to the original values of the Constitution. Chuck Baldwin espouses the CP values, with which I find myself fairly closely aligned. However, most CP folks are disgruntled GOP who are arrogant and ineffective. At least this is the way at the state party level here in NC. Ergo, I have disassociated myself with them. I can elaborate more on my differences with Ron Paul later if you wish.

Q: Is there any Vice Presidential pick for McCain that could get you to "hold your nose" and vote for him? (If so, why? If not, why not?)

A: Nope. First off, who ever remembers the VP? I personally remember all the VPs since I first started paying attention to the government in my elementary school days. Does the general populace pay attention? Probably not. I have a hard time finding people who know who Dick Cheney is. How many VPs have actually ascended to the Presidency in my lifetime? Only one, and he was not elected to that office. Gerald Ford was appointed VP after Spiro Agnew resigned under the provisions of the 25th Amendment. That was over 30 years ago and is not in the forefront of the knowledge or remembrance of millions of Americans. Since the VP does not make policy except to act as President of the Senate, I do not find that VP candidates are a means of sway for my vote. We would still get McCain as President, our chief executive.

Q: At this point, who do you think will win the general election and why?

A: I believe that Barack Obama will win. Why? Voter apathy, ignorance, and seduction. There are so few people educated on Constitutional principles, know the history of this nation, that follow traditional Christian values, and believe that they should provide for themselves rather than be taken care of by the world's system, we are doomed to become a socialist nation. And yet we will have the same document called The United States Constitution to which we claim to adhere.

Column for July 17, 2008

Three items that made me go "Hhhhhmmmmmmm"

As scant as the news has been here in Selma the past month or so, I still find things over which to muse right here in this very newspaper. In reading the July 10th edition, I found three stories that made me go, "Hhhhhmmmmmmm." Maybe I am just one who ponders the great mysteries of life as well as employs critical thinking. Maybe I am just a bit pessimistic. Either way, I am able to find fodder for my column.

I had originally planned to be in another town with some friends for the 4th of July celebration. Unfortunately, those plans got canceled at almost the last minute, so I came to downtown Selma to enjoy the fireworks with some family members. For a small town, Selma does put on a great fireworks display each Independence Day. I actually consider July 2nd to be Independence Day, since that is when Lee's Resolution was passed calling for said independence, but that is another discussion for another day.

My method of counting must be very different from that of event organizers. It never fails that I see far fewer people at an event than gets reported in the media. Whether it be the .5 Million Man March, a political rally, or a small town fireworks display, the quoted number of people always exceeds what is readily obvious by two to three fold. I believe that in this case, ten fold. Somewhere, the decimal point was moved when it was reported that "approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people attended throughout the evening".

Shifting gears now, I pop the clutch and roll on to our pending increase in our utility bills. I have heard from some of my readers over the past two years (I am now beginning my third year of writing this column) that they are dismayed at the high electricity bills here in Selma. I read previously that we were going to look at approximately a 12% rate increase in our utility bills. We are also getting a trash collection rate hike and a property tax hike.

It is my understanding that Selma, by nature of its association with Electricities, is a wholesale customer of Progress Energy. What that means to us as customers is that we are prone to more capricious fluctuations in the price of electricity than normal Progress Energy (I still catch myself referring to them as CP&L) customers. Retail customers of Progress Energy are protected from wide price fluctuations by the state's regulatory commission. By regulation, wholesale customers are not subject to such wild market price protections. By the time that retail customers have been even notified that the regulatory agency has approved a price hike for them, we who buy our electricity from the town's monopoly have already been socked with the increases. I got this information directly from a former Selma town manager, so I figure that the description here is accurate.

I have no problem with the town using the electrical grid in town to make money provided that there are several things that will come along with the process. First, that we as a town can use the profits derived from the sale of electricity, water, and sewer services to offset property taxation as a regular, ongoing source of revenue. State regulatory agencies have a problem with that concept, so our budget often reflects that we have a deficiency in funding, and hence the tax increase we are getting. This is not the entire reason, I am sure, but it is certainly a contributing factor. What is the sense of making a profit from a venture if you can not use the revenue as you see fit? If we are not able to use the profits to go towards our general fund, then we need to price the utility rates so that we do not have any profit at all.

For that matter, we should ponder selling our electrical system to Progress Energy and let them provide 100% of the service. That will save us the expense of the employees, vehicles, materials, and operational burdens of having such a utility department in house. If we can get the same service from a private company, then we should seriously consider it. If we can sell the entire system to the power company and make a huge profit from the sale, we can roll back some property taxes and perhaps get a lot of other items taken care of that we could not previously afford as a town. Just food for thought.

The last item that tickled my fancy was the list of some 41 items that our illustrious mayor has given as successes and failures. For almost three years, I have simply said, "Where's the list?" We heard constantly that there was a list of things that the then candidate for mayor and later mayor elect had as his goals for Selma. When the Republican Party was in its "hay day" in 1994 and were elected in landslide elections, they came up with the "Contract for America". This was a list of the things they wanted to get accomplished and pledged to work towards. They made this list readily available and we could look over the list and measure results. We have not yet had this privilege as citizens here in Selma with the promised 50 item agenda. Even with this article in the paper, we still do not have this privilege.

There are only 41 items on this list, and many of them are simply a listing of what has been accomplished, not what was on the list from three years ago. Ergo, we can not as citizens measure the results of what we were promised. Some of the items on the list were obviously not on a list of goals, since they came about long after the envisioning of the original list. A couple had nothing to do with the mayor or town council, and a few were in the works before the mayor even took office.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for listing the achievements and progress made in town. I applaud progress in areas in which progress was needed. I am sure that some of the items so enumerated in the newspaper were originally planned as part of the infamous list of 50 that we kept hearing about but were never afforded the opportunity to read. I am all for adding to a list once it has been started. I am saying that in all fairness, since we as citizens were promised progress on an undisclosed list nearly three years ago, perhaps it is time to compare and evaluate. Had the list not been heralded by the mayor, I would not be so critical in my discernment. However, a promise made that is not known as to its content has no way of standing up to scrutiny or measurement. That is the way I look at it. Since the list was again brought up in the newspaper, I find it fair to bring up a demand for a metric and disclosure of said list. That way, we as citizens can say whether or not we were wise in our choice for mayor; that we can say "well done" or "we want more accomplished" and hold elected officials accountable. We citizens are, after all, the ones that are being represented, cast the votes, and the ones who foot the bill for the town.