"Businesses have the right to refuse service to customers on the basis of their religious faith."

Contrary to their name, the North Carolina Values Coalition does not represent the values of our state with positions like this:

"We also believe that private business owners have the right to refuse service to customers on the basis of their religious faith."

No, that represents an anti-American position dangerously indifferent to our great country's long history of hard fought battles to overcome discrimination, starting with our founding.

Big government make-work

From a Greensboro Police Department press release:

On Dec. 22 beginning at 10 pm, Greensboro Police will host a “Booze It and Lose It” checkpoint on Holden Road at the I-40 overpass.

Also participating are agencies with the Guilford County Driving While Impaired Task Force: High Point Police Department, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, A+T University campus police, and UNC-G campus police.  

The checkpoint location is miles away from the UNCG and A&T campuses. Do those cops not have enough work in their jurisdictions? And the High Point police? That seems totally inappropriate to me—that Greensboro citizens will be subjected to the actions of a law enforcement agency over which we have no control.

The plagiarism just keeps rolling along at WFMY

Plagiarism: The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own. -- Oxford Dictionaires

The practice continues at WFMY. The article below was posted to WFMY's website today and is identified as "Written by Devetta Blount" a WFMY staffer, but it is identical to an article that appears on the Visit Winston Salem website dated seventeen days ago.

Here is the article from WFMY's website, the copied portions are highlighted.

Winston-Salem, NC-- A Winston-Salem church that has some rich history is celebrating 150 years.

St. Philips African Moravian Church in Old Salem is celebrating its 150th anniversary on Thursday. Consecrated in 1861, the congregation held its first service in the church on December 15th of that year. Events celebrating the anniversary will be going on throughout the day.

The St. Philips Heritage Center is holding an open house from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m to celebrate the occasion.  Visitors will be able to tour the African Moravian Log Church, St. Philips African Moravian Church and the African American and Strangers Graveyards.

Later on December 15, there will be "An Evening of Conversation and Music" beginning with a reception from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Old Salem Visitor Center. At 7 p.m., a program will take place at St. Philips African Moravian Church, which will include expressions by regional officials, clergy and community leaders as well as special music. Shuttles will transport attendees from the Visitor Center to St. Philips every 15 minutes ending at 6:30 p.m.

At the evening event, Dr. Rodney will be honored. Special guests include: Rev. William Brown, Pastor of Rising Ebenezer Baptist Church; Rev. Ronnie Roseboro, pastor of St. Andrews United Methodist Church; Dr. Patricia Bailey-Jones, Founder of Masters Touch Ministries International; Rev. Stacey Frazier, Pastor of Friendship Baptist Church; Rev. Darryl Aaron, pastor of First Baptist Church; Rev. Prince Rivers, pastor of United Metropolitan Baptist Church; Rev. Donald Jenkins, pastor of St. Paul Methodist Church; Dr. Sir Walter Mack, Jr., pastor of Union Baptist Church; Mayor Allen Joines; Dr. Vivian Burke, Mayor Pro Tempore and the North Carolina chapter of the National Liturgical Dance Network.

All the events are free and open to the public, although an RSVP is required for the evening program. RSVP by calling 1-800-441-5305.

Historic St. Philips African Moravian Church is the oldest African American church still standing in the state of North Carolina and one of the earliest in the entire country. Built for the African American congregation, the church matched most of the other churches in the area built at the same time with the large brick, Greek Revival style. The church was expanded in 1890 with the need to add more classroom space downstairs and above in the balcony. The church extended out into the graveyard, which later caused structural issues on the front walls. The congregation moved out of the building in the 1952, and the church sat vacant until restored for use as part of Old Salem Museums & Gardens tours. The steeple, which had been removed in the 1920s, was part of the exterior restoration. The original pews and other details are back in place inside the building. It was from the pulpit of this brick church that on Sunday, May 21, 1865, a Union Cavalry Chaplain announced freedom to the enslaved community in and around the town of Salem, now Winston-Salem.

The St. Philips Heritage Center in Old Salem is a sacred place significant to the unusual and unique history of this community, and it is a touchstone of the African American experience. The African and African American Moravian congregation, organized in Salem in 1822 among a mostly enslaved population, is one of the oldest Black congregations in the United States. It is the only historic African American Moravian congregation in the country. The Center is comprised of the Log Church, St. Philips Moravian Brick Church, the Strangers Graveyard, the Negro God's Acre and the Path to Happy Hill Overlook.

Elected to serve whom?

GREENSBORO, NC -- The ideologically paralyzed Joe Guarino has been lamenting on his blog recently that city council representative Zack Matheny "let down" former mayor Bill Knight and certain other council members by not siding with them on the landfill issue: As Joe puts it:

Bill Knight must feel awfully betrayed. 

Excuse me, and correct me if I'm wrong, but Zack Matheny was not elected to serve Bill Knight or any other council person. He was elected to serve the people of Greensboro. To suggest otherwise is to advocate for the politics of the "cabal" Joe famously decries when it works against him. More situational ethics, I'm afraid.

We don't need no stinkin' public interest

Lex Alexander:

Look, folks, this might be the most important, overarching issue of our time in this country: The IGMFY [I got mine... you] folks want to steal everything. Everything. And they’re using the power of government to do it. They stole our retirement, they stole our home equity, they’re doing their damnedest to steal our Social Security and now they’re going after the money we spend to educate our children. Enough is never enough with these people, and this crap will keep on until they have taken everything we have or until we bust them in the chops hard enough to make them stop and send them whimpering back into their corners.

Correction

Yesterday I wrote a post in which I said that the News & Record editorialists  "toed the line" of those clamoring for war with Iraq. That was my memory. Whether I was completely wrong, confusing the homegrown editorials with those of other columnists printed in the paper at the time or going on an impression more of the news coverage, I was not accurate.

While I was unsatisfied that the N&R ever adequately delved into the available information that contradicted the official warmongering claims, they did not accept those claims without question on the opinion page either. Former N&R reporter Lex Alexander brings this N&R editorial from six weeks prior to the start of the war to my attention. It questions the case for war, thus making my previous characterization inaccurate.

The News & Record's "editorial lassitude"

Fec on the News & Record's "editorial lassitude":

The problems with our local daily are many, but falling in line with the national media clamoring to bomb Iran is a disgrace to those many of its readers who know better.

We may remember, they—the same people, not just the institution—did the same thing in the run-up to the Iraq war. Good editorial makes one think, it doesn't just vomit an opinion at the expense of reason or knowledge.

Amateur hour and more plagiarism at WFMY

 How many errors can a reporter cram into a single sentence? Try this from WFMY.

Officers say an unknown woman stole the wallet, and her and another female used the credit cards and cashed a Cashier's Check that was in the wallet.

Then there is this article on WFMY's website, copied nearly word-for-word from a press release even though the byline says "Written by Teresa Ostuni"—another sad example of WFMY staff putting their names to things they did not write.

Here is the article as it appeared on WFMY's website, the copied portions are highlighted.

Greensboro, NC -- Bennett College has received official notification from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, that the college has been removed from its 6 month probation for financial instability.

After receiving word in June 2011 that the College was on probation, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of the College, said, "We look forward to the meeting we will have with SACS in October 2011, at which time we plan to demonstrate the 2010 one-time occurrences were just that, and are not part of our permanent fiscal picture or systemic in any fashion."

After learning the College [sic] was no longer on probation, Dr. Malveaux said, "I was elated to receive the official notice that by action of the SACS Board of Trustees, Bennett College has been removed from probation! As part of the College's 5-year report, we must evidence continued compliance with the SACS principle on financial stability."

True to President Malveaux's word, the College was able to demonstrate its financial stability to the SACS visiting team in October. The team of 4 visited the campus over a two-day period, reviewing records and talking with the College's stakeholders.

Dr. Malveaux assured the stakeholders once again, that "The College is at no risk. Bennett continues to be accredited and financial aid was not impacted by the SACS probation."

Bennett College is a small, private, historically Black liberal arts college for women. The College offers women an education conducive to excellence and scholarly pursuits; preparation for leadership roles in the workplace, society and the world.

For more information on Bennett College, visit its website, here.

Bennett College

Women's health is liberal, the White House is not

Can we stop trying to shoehorn everything and everybody into "liberal" or "conservative" when all we really are doing is attempting to create some shorthand to keeps us from having to think.

The News & Record's Doug Clark: 

The White House supported [Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebilius'] decision, which apparently has liberals up in arms.

If liberals are up in arms and the White House is not up in arms, then the White House must not be liberal. 

Maybe that's what Clark meant, or maybe the knee-jerk expectation that everything about public policy must be consigned to liberal or conservative, us or them, is superficial and insufficient. Maybe, "Some women's health professionals are up in arms" would have been more informative and less ridiculous.

"The film boasts the best use of 3-D I have ever seen."

I've been meaning to write something about Martin Scorsese's new film Hugo, which I not only agree is the best use of 3D technology I've ever seen, but which is also beautifully crafted as a story, as Avant Greensboro's Joe Scott explains in his excellent review. It is easily the best movie I've seen in a long, long time.

One way to deal with paranoid delusions

GREENSBORO, NC -- What does one do when paranoid conspiracy theories lead one to hastily post a concocted fantasy? Delete it.

Lest the content of the link above change, here is the original, now deleted, post:

Channel 13 Blacks Out Conservative Council Members' Parting Words

Tonight, there was a ceremonial "changing of the guard" on the Greensboro City Council.  The old council briefly met; and the outgoing council members had a chance to offer remarks.  Then the new council was seated and sworn in.

But an interesting "mishap" took place.  I am told that Channel 13 did not televise the first portion of the meeting, but did televise the second portion.   The conservative council members' parting remarks were therefore blacked out of the live telecast.

Readers will remember that Channel 13 recently refrained from telecasting the video that had been produced by C4GC.  It appears that a pattern is emerging.  Apparently someone did not want the portion of the meeting focusing on Bill Knight, Danny Thompson and Mary Rakestraw to be telecast.

This matter needs to be investigated; and corrective measures need to be taken.  It was completely inappropriate to pull this stunt.  How many times have we seen Channel 13 block out portions of meetings in the past?

There will be more to say about the meeting later.  But rest assured that corrupt machine government is back.

An electronic correspondence machine

I really don't get the "can't do" attitude of a segment of modern Americans towards advances in society. I'm certain they'll be forgotten in the dust; nonetheless, it's interesting to see how the expectations of "crazy" optimism can come to be quite normal as illustrated by this 1967 film.

WFMY corrects plagiarism

GREENSBORO, NC - WFMY published a story last week attributed to one of their staff when it was, in vast majority, copied from another source. ""Written by Lauren Melvin" of WFMY, it said.

WFMY has changed the byline on the story, now attributing it to CNN.

Here is a screenshot of the original.

WFMY has a history of very low standards of journalism, including copying works from other sources and attributing them to WFMY. You'd think that something this basic would be covered in the radio & TV classes these reporters must have taken to earn their degrees but, ultimately, it's management—the news director and the station manager—who set the bar. This kind of correction is a step in the right direction, with a little oversight and encouragement, management should be able to eradicate plagiarism completely.

Greensboro drivers love to stop, contrary to the rules of the road

There are two situations under which Greensboro drivers seem uncertain about when to stop and when to go, choosing to stop instead and unnecessarily delaying traffic.

First, school buses on four lane roads.
Under North Carolina law, when you are approaching a stopped school bus from the opposite direction on a four lane road with a turn lane, you do not stop for the bus. Only vehicles following the bus must stop. I'm talking to you, Pisgah Church morning drivers. (You must stop on a four lane road without a turn lane or on any road less than four lanes with or without a turn lane.)

From the N.C. Driver's handbook, p. 47:

Second, the four-way stop.
Under North Carolina law (p. 56), the first person to arrive at a four way stop is the first to go. Drivers proceed through the stop in the order at which they arrive at the intersection. If multiple drivers arrive at the same time, the driver to your right has the right-of-way. She may, in turn, be waiting to yield to a driver to her right. If only two vehicles arrive at the same time facing each other and one wants to turn left, it must yield to the other.

It's awfully sweet of you, but please don't try to "wave" me through a four-way stop contrary to these rules. If I should collide with another vehicle while following your invitations to proceed out of turn, it won't matter that you waved me through—I'd still be at fault. So, please don't get flustered when I decline your gesticulated invitations, just follow the rules and we'll all be moving smoothly and safely.

WFMY regurgitates press release

GREENSBORO, NC -- WFMY publishes a story to their website about a new medical facility in Caswell County. Although identified as "Written by WFMY News 2," nearly all of it is copied word-for-word from a press release. It matters because, at their most basic, news organizations play a vital role as fact checkers. Regurgitating the self-interested self-promotions of businesses is not the role of a legitimate news organization. (Copied work also says something about the standards and rigor of the news organization.)

Here is the WFMY article with the copied portions highlighted:

Yanceyville, NC-- Cancer patients in in Caswell County no longer have to make road trips to other towns.

Monday, Alamance Regional announced Convenient [sic*] access to cancer care is now available to residents of Caswell County and the surrounding area. Through a partnership between Alamance Regional Medical Center and Caswell Family Medical Center,  Alamance Regional's Cancer Center was selected by the medical practice to provide high-quality care to the area.

A recent community needs assessment determined access to specialists is a major health issue in Caswell County.

Based on the findings of the needs assessment, Caswell Family Medical Center expanded to offer additional services in the Caswell County area.

The clinic is located in Caswell Family Medical Center on Highway 158 in Yanceyville. It is staffed by board-certified oncologist Timothy Finnegan, MD, and Krissy Carr, NP, both with Alamance Regional Cancer Center, and is open to patients with appointments on Tuesday afternoons.

The clinic provides oncology appointments and some chemotherapy treatment services. Patients who need extensive chemotherapy will receive treatment at Alamance Regional Cancer Center Mebane. Radiation therapy treatments are provided at the main Alamance Regional Cancer Center in Burlington.

For more information or to make an appointment, call Alamance Regional Cancer Center Mebane at 919-563-1160.

 * The capitalization begins a sentence in the original.

WFMY Plagiarism

Update (12/06/11): WFMY has changed the byline, now attributing the story to CNN.

GREENSBORO, NC -- WFMY publishes an article to their website titled "Experts: Beware Of Germs During Holiday Shopping." Although the article is identified as "Written by Lauren Melvin" of WFMY, the vast majority of it is copied, word-for-word, from the original source.

Here is the WFMY article, the highlighted portions were copied:

Greensboro, NC -- When you head out to do your holiday shopping, you're thinking about the people on your list, the stores you're going to, and your budget.  However, experts warn you should also be thinking about germs.

According to Health.com, while you're checking items off your shopping list, you may be exposing yourself to germs like flu viruses, E. coli, and staph.  All of them could make you sick.

Health.com had a panel of experts to rank the worst germ hot spots at your local shopping center.

1. Restroom sinks

The filthiest area in a restroom (and therefore in the whole mall) isn't the toilet handle or the doorknob -- it's the sink, our experts say.  Bacteria, including E. coli, fester on the faucet and handles because people touch those surfaces right after using the toilet, explains panelist Charles Gerba, Ph.D., a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona.

"The sink area is a moist environment, so bacteria can survive longer there," he adds.

Watch out for soap dispensers, too -- not only are they handled by many dirty hands, but the soap itself may harbor germs. When Gerba's team tested liquid soap from refillable dispensers in public bathrooms, they found that one in four contained unsafe levels of bacteria.

Protect yourself: Wash your hands thoroughly after using a public loo: Lather with soap for at least 20 seconds, then rinse well. Use a paper towel to turn off the water and open the door. If there's no soap or paper towels, kill germs with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, using at least a tablespoon of product.

Gerba also advises avoiding refillable soap dispensers (usually made of clear plastic with a removable lid) and only using liquid soap that comes in a sealed refill; if that's not an option or you're not sure, follow up with hand sanitizer.

2. Food court tables
Even if you see the table being wiped down, that doesn't mean it's clean, says panelist Elaine Larson, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University: "The rags themselves can actually spread harmful bacteria such as E. coli if they are not changed and washed regularly."

Protect yourself: Consider stashing a pack of hard-surface disinfecting wipes in your purse so you can swipe the table before you sit down.

3. Escalator handrails

"In our testing, we have found food, E. coli, urine, mucus, feces, and blood on escalator handrails," says Gerba. "And where there is mucus, you may also find cold and flu viruses."

Protect yourself: Play it safe: Avoid touching handrails altogether, recommends Gerba, unless you absolutely have to -- in which case, give yourself a generous squirt of hand sanitizer afterward.

4. ATM keypads

After testing 38 ATMs in downtown Taipei, Chinese researchers found that each key contained an average of 1,200 germs, including illness-inducing microbes like E. coli and cold and flu viruses, Philip Tierno, Ph.D., director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Langone Medical Center said.  The worst key of all? The "enter" button, because everyone has to touch it, Gerba points out.

Protect yourself: "Knuckle" ATM buttons -- you'll avoid getting germs on your fingertips, which are more likely to find their way to your nose and mouth than your knuckles. And be sure to wash your hands or use sanitizer afterward.

5. Toy stores

Toy stores can actually be germier than play areas, carousels, and other kid-friendly zones, Tierno said, simply because of the way little ones behave there. "Kids lick toys, roll them on their heads, and rub them on their faces, and all that leaves a plethora of germs on the toys," he says. The goods their parents don't buy end up back on the shelves, where your kid finds them.

Protect yourself: If you make a purchase, wipe down any toy that isn't in a sealed box or package with soap and water, alcohol, or vinegar (which has antimicrobial properties) before giving it to your child. And, of course, reach for the hand sanitizer after you've been hands-on in the toy aisle.

6. Fitting rooms

You won't pick up much from the hooks or the chair. The germ culprit? What you try on.

"After people try on clothing, skin cells and perspiration can accumulate on the inside," said Tierno. "Both can serve as food for bacterial growth." You can even pick up antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), just by trying on clothes, says Tierno.

Protect yourself: Always wear full-coverage underwear (no thongs!) when trying on clothes, especially pants, bathing suits, and any other garment that touches your genitals or rectum. Bandage cuts or scrapes before trying on clothes, as "open wounds can be a gateway to dangerous bacteria," Tierno says. And be sure to wash new clothes before you wear them.

7. Gadget shops

While you're playing around on that new smartphone, you could be picking up germs from the thousand people who tested it out before you. "Most stores do clean their equipment," said Tierno, "but they certainly don't clean after each use."

A study published last year in the Journal of Applied Microbiology found that viruses easily transfer between glass surfaces (think iPad or smartphone faces) and fingertips. And a recent report found that of four iPads swabbed in two Apple stores located in New York City, one contained Staphylococcus aureus, the most common cause of staph infections, while another registered a bacteria associated with skin rash. That's not even counting the cold and flu germs that might be lurking.

Protect yourself: Before you try out the latest gizmo, quickly wipe it down with a disinfecting wipe. And (yes, once again) use a hand sanitizer after you're done.

8. Makeup samples

Heading to the makeup counter? You might end up picking up a staph infection right along with the latest lipstick shade. A 2005 study found that between 67% and 100% of makeup-counter testers were contaminated with bacteria, including staph, strep, and E. coli. "This study shows us that someone was sick or went to the bathroom, didn't wash their hands, and then stuck their finger in the sample," Tierno said.

Protect yourself: "Avoid using public makeup samples to apply cosmetics to your lips, eyes, or face," said Tierno, who suggests asking for a single-use unit (you open it, try it, and throw it away). If that's not available, use a tissue to wipe off the sample and then apply the product to the back of your hand.

The best line of defense: Buy then try. Returning stuff to the store may be a little more of a hassle, but it's a heck of a lot better than bringing home a nasty bug.

For my Republican friends

It has become so commonplace with local conservative bloggers and commenters that I no longer push back, but their propensity to assert opinions untethered from the facts is long established. It's not just local. Republican David Frum has a great article about how this fantasy paradigm must end or sink the Republican party in "When did the G.O.P. lose touch with reality?"

Backed by their own wing of the book-publishing industry and supported by think tanks that increasingly function as public-relations agencies, conservatives have built a whole alternative knowledge system, with its own facts, its own history, its own laws of economics.

Context

The pepper spraying cop

3 years smoke free

I have not had a cigarette for three years (as of yesterday, actually).

I quit with the help of Chantix, no side effects other than a gradual disappearing of the desire for a smoke until I simply did not want the next cigarette. In my case, I was on it for longer than suggested before quiting and stayed on it for longer than suggested after I quit, but it worked.

Smokers get sick more often, illnesses are more severe and you'll probably die sooner than if you did not smoke with the likelihood that you will live the last part of your life in some diminished condition as a burden to your loved ones. But you know this already.

I know that a life without cigarettes can be unfathomable to a smoker, even the next fifteen minutes can seem impossible. But I was there and now I'm not, not for three years. You can escape too. If you smoke and want to quit, talk to your doctor.

Social media smackdown

From a funny and knowledgeable article about social media:

Social networks exist to sell you crap. The icky feeling you get when your friend starts to talk to you about Amway, or when you spot someone passing out business cards at a birthday party, is the entire driving force behind a site like Facebook.

Because their collection methods are kind of primitive, these sites have to coax you into doing as much of your social interaction as possible while logged in, so they can see it. It's as if an ad agency built a nationwide chain of pubs and night clubs in the hopes that people would spend all their time there, rigging the place with microphones and cameras to keep abreast of the latest trends (and staffing it, of course, with that Mormon bartender).

We're used to talking about how disturbing this in the context of privacy, but it's worth pointing out how weirdly unsocial it is, too. How are you supposed to feel at home when you know a place is full of one-way mirrors?

We have a name for the kind of person who collects a detailed, permanent dossier on everyone they interact with, with the intent of using it to manipulate others for personal advantage - we call that person a sociopath. And both Google and Facebook have gone deep into stalker territory with their attempts to track our every action. Even if you have faith in their good intentions, you feel misgivings about stepping into the elaborate shrine they've built to document your entire online life.