Banning the future

By James White

I was looking at the list of banned books, which disturbed me greatly, but what really grabbed my attention was the list of reasons for why the books were banned. There were several mentions of a book that “conflicted with the values of the community”, claims that a book has a “focus on gangs and gang violence”, books with a “racial bias”, and books that offer “an inflammatory challenge to authoritarian roles.”

All of these are ridiculous claims, not because the books don’t have these themes in them, rest assured that they do, but the claim that these books should be stricken from the curriculum because they have these themes is an idea that is not only wrong, but is also ignorant.

How can I make such an outlandish claim?

Simple.

Let’s examine some of these concerns that were raised by different communities.

The idea that a book should be banned because its content “conflicted with the values of the community” strikes the vast majority of literature from most schools’ curriculum. For example, Beowulf is an epic poem that survives from Old English. There are very few values from that time that still exist.  The theme of “might makes right” that is so clear in this poem would be frowned upon by today’s standards, at least in most American communities. Texas might see things differently. We believe in a more democratic system, one that encourages intelligence and learning. Perhaps this would allow a work from a different culture.

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey showcases a protagonist that uses his wits to survive multiple encounters with dangerous creatures. He is not able to rely on his brawn, as Beowulf is, but must instead create creative solutions to his problems. This seems more in line with current American thinking. Of course, the fact that he paused on his journey home to his wife and son to screw goddesses and witches of ten years (off and on in all fairness), may conflict with some of the family values that many communities say are so important to them. So maybe we’ll have to scratch that one off the list.

There goes the Judge

By William R. Toler

Shortly after 4 pm, FOX Business Network announced a reshuffling of programming which included cancelling Freedom Watch hosted by Judge Andrew Napolitano.

Photo Courtesy FOX News

And Libertarians across the country are pissed.

In a press release, the network announced that encore presentations of “the channel’s top post-market programs” would be aired, and three programs would get the ax. That’s right…they’re cancelling the Judge for reruns!

“We look forward to Judge Napolitano…continuing to make significant contributions to both FOX Business and FOX News,” said Kevin Magee, executive vice-president of the network. “In addition to daily branded segments, each of them will be showcased throughout future programming on both networks.”

Meet the Libertarians

By William R. Toler

After a struggle to stay on the ballot, the North Carolina Libertarian Party has six, count ’em, six candidates for president listed on the ballot.

Out of the six, the most-known is former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who started out the race on the Republican ticket. During the early debates, Johnson’s views were close in line with Texas Congressman Ron Paul, and may have been too far out there for mainstream Republicans. But Johnson’s ideals seem to fit right in with Libertarian thought.

Another politician with his hat in the ring is Roger Gary. Who is Roger Gary? According to his campaign website, Gary has been involved with the Texas Libertarian Party since 1977. He was elected to public office where he served 6 years as Director of the San Antonio River Authority. Gary has also served two terms as the state LP chair.

NDAA causes controversy

By William R. Toler

You wouldn’t think something as innocent-sounding as the National Defense Authorization Act would pose such a threat to the people of the nation.

On first thought, it sounds like just funding the military….which is just what it is supposed to be. According to Wikipedia it is a “federal law that has been enacted for each of the past 49 years to specify the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense.”

So, why then, has there been so much opposition among liberty activists?

There’s a dangerous provision that the Huffington Post calls the “worst thing since the Alien and Sedition Acts.” That provision allows for the arrest and indefinate detention of Americans seen as a threat by the military, thereby abolishing the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act which prohibits the military from domestic policing.

The act, which passed through the Senate 93-7, was signed by President Obama on New Years Eve…despite orignally saying he would veto the bill with that provision. However, he did include a signing statement saying:” I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists.”

Most of our state’s servants in Washington voted for the act including both Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan. NC Congressmen Mel Watt and Walter Jones were among the opposition in the House of Represenatives. If Jones, a staunch advocate for the miltary, is against it…there must be something wrong.

Golden Rule booed in S.C.

By William R. Toler

“[C]an’t believe the golden rule got booed in SC. wow.”

That was the status from a Facebook “friend” during the GOP debate Monday night in the Palmetto State.

The Golden Rule, treat others as you would like to be treated, was uttered by the media and establishment’s least favorite candidate, Texas Congressman Ron Paul. The audience, made up of apparently status quo, warhawk conservatives, promptly booed the libertarian-minded, predidential hopeful.

During a reubuttal to an answer by Rick Santorum, Paul said our nation should follow the Golden Rule in terms of foreign policy.

“If another country does to us as we do to others, we’re not going to like it very much. So I would say, maybe we ought to consider a Golden Rule in foreign policy. [Cue the boos] Don’t do to other nations what we don’t want them to do to us.”

I was a little surprised myself, considering Republicans, especially in the Bible Belt, teach and preach the Golden Rule.
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John Drake: A big man with a big heart

By William R. Toler

Why couldn’t I have been born rich instead of good looking?

John Harold Drake 1965-2011

The early mantra of my uncle, John Drake, popped in my head a few hours after learning of his death and brought a smile to my melancholy demeanor.

Even though I wasn’t as close to him as I would have liked to have been, I still looked up to him. I’ve often said out of everyone in my family, I’ve followed in his footsteps the most.

I remember wanting to be like him as kid. He was cool. I used to try to play his old trombone from his days in the West Craven High School Band, although it was slightly bent and had no mouthpiece.

With his love of music and a gifted voice came a career as a disc jockey. Starting at the age of 15 at a Christian radio station inside Twin Rivers Mall, he floated around formats across Eastern North Carolina including WDLX, WSFL, WLOJ and WTND…among others. We would sometimes go and visit him at the stations and watch him in action behind the mic. We would also often listen to the stations he worked at…at least when he was on-air as Don Shannon.

I remember calling to talk to him during songs and commerical breaks, usually aslo requesting songs. When at WSFL, I would always ask hime to play Kokomo by the Beach Boys. Later at Thunder Country, I’d beg to hear Hank Williams Jr.’s Born To Boogie.

NC city plans to limit speech

By William R. Toler

As pointed out in this blog before, the threat of tyranny comes not only from the overreaching federal government, but also from local elected officials on a power trip.

A city council in the Triad is considering altering a public assembly ordinance that would further limit free speech, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

In an apparent response to the Occupy movement, some council members in Winston-Salem, one the state’s largest cities, thought it would be a good idea to change an ordinace which would among other things “temporarily” make City Hall non-public property, and prohibit open-air meetings.

Orwellian World: Part Trois

By William R. Toler

Even working in the news industry, I still seem to miss big stories.

If it wasn’t for Infowars.com, I never would have seen a story out of my home state about spying streetlights.

I was planning to write another post about how we’re heading toward the world of George Orwell’s 1984, citing the Emergency Alert System test held earlier this month, but other developments of intrusion were brought to my attention which I feel compelled to share.

FOX Charlotte reported earlier this month that new, high-tech streetlights known as Intellistreets could soon be spying on us as we stroll through some of our bigger cities, including Detroit and the Queen City. ABC-7 reports that the lights are able to “provide entertainment, save energy, make announcements, and even counts people for police.” Even more frightening is that they can take pictures and record conversations.

Now, while I support the notion that there is no real expectation of privacy in public places (for First Amendment reasons), we shouldn’t have the government spying on us in a free society.

Hyper partisanship: a Downward Spiral

By Justin A. Chick

Since the advent of the United States and its application by our founding fathers, the party system of Democracy was designed to protect and represent our nation’s populace.

Unlike the Monarchy of 18th century Great Britain, the governing body of the United States was created to function in regard to the diverse ideologies prevalent throughout the colonies.  The intention was to govern via civilized debates, with each party or platform presenting their respective points of view, and then agreeing on a suitable compromise of principles to eventually implement into law.

Today, this democratic style of politics has been abused and manipulated beyond recognition.  What used to serve as an efficient source of policy making has now become an engine of personal interest, driving a wedge between Democrats and Republicans.  Congress, who has been gridlocked by political incompetence for nearly 2 years, has a current approval rating of around 15%.  This means about 85% of Americans don’t feel the government has provided reasonable solutions to problems it was designed to solve.

One of the major reasons for our country’s political inadequacies is due to a substantial lack of accountability among lawmakers.  The result is petty name-calling and finger pointing.  During the first year and a half of President Obama’s term, there was a tendency within his administration to blame the declining economy on his predecessor George W. Bush.  However true the claims may have been, they accomplished nothing politically and most likely had a negative effect on his ambitions by antagonizing Republicans before solutions were agreed upon.

Then, in 2011, the Obama Administration—Joe Biden specifically—made the remark, “Bush broke it, but we own it,” referring to the U.S. economy and attempting to take accountability for the 2 and a half years of stagnant economic growth.  It didn’t take long for conservatives to seize the opportunity to call for a public apology for previous remarks blaming Bush.

Community colleges earn failing grades on free speech

By Corey Friedman

College is supposed to be a marketplace of ideas — a place where students examine a range of diverse viewpoints, champion some and challenge others. At some North Carolina schools, however, robust debate is off the syllabus and questioning authority is out of the question.

Just up the road in Hickory, Catawba Valley Community College suspended student Marc Bechtol for two semesters after he criticized the college’s partnership with a debit card company on the college Facebook page. Bechtol accused the college and its partner financial institution of selling student information to banks, and he suggested a tongue-in-cheek method of retaliation: Registering a college email address with pornographic websites to trigger a flood of spam emails.

It’s clear from the full text of Bechtol’s post that the proposal was made in jest. But CVCC administrators didn’t appreciate his sense of humor. They pulled him out of class on Oct. 4. Without a hearing, Bechtol was banned from the campus for two semesters for violating a college policy that bars anything the administration believes “may be contrary to the best interest of the CVCC community.”