Guarino

Break for a few days

Will be taking a break from blogging the next couple of days to do some catching up.  Expect to be back later in the week.

The Importance of Police Addressing Domestic Violence Among its Members: The GPD Blake Case

I am told that my blog qualified for "Blogfight of the Week" in Yes!Weekly on the basis of a thread that occurred a week ago on the GPD domestic assault case.  It was alleged that this site consists, in part, of right-wing talking points; and that the threads are like an echo chamber.  But it paradoxically highlights the vigorous debate that took place in the domestic assault thread-- which did not even remotely resemble an echo chamber.

The Yes!Weekly description took the side of those commenters who favored unequal protection of the law based on gender.  But we learned later in the week that nearly 20% of the homicides that occur in North Carolina during domestic violence episodes are committed by women.

And the Yes!Weekly account suggested that Wendy Raines explained Police Department procedure to us when we raised questions regarding the GPD's handling of the Blake/Galloway/Sanchez incident.  But John Hammer explained on Thursday how the GPD did not handle the case in an admirable way.

It was somewhat ironic to learn that the GPD may be receiving some federal stimulus funds to help with the funding of its domestic violence squad, even as it apparently sought to sweep the most recent incident under the rug:  (HT: Stormy)

Now, how about some cash for a new police domestic violence squad and better Internet connections in the library?

Those are just two items on a revised wish list of programs and projects the city would like to see funded through the $787 billion federal stimulus package approved last month.

A national organization is devoting resources toward raising awareness about police officers that engage in domestic abuse.  This is a serious problem that merits a serious response on the part of police departments.  The issue is apparently that police departments often tend to handle these situations on an informal basis ; and discipline can tend to be very light.  And victims of domestic violence perpetrated by police officers can have some unique vulnerabilities as explained on the website. 

I should add that this site is NOT run by a conservative, "right-wing" organization.  It is a service of the Feminist Majority Foundation.  But the "talking points" it makes would tend to be critical of GPD's handling of the Ahmed Blake case.

John Hammer seemed to imply that the "assault on a female" charge apparently would not have come without the actions of Lorraine Galloway and the DA's office.  It is evident that Ms. Galloway has some education; and also is from out of town.  

In fact, I am told that she is an instructor with the North Carolina Justice Academy, and that she specializes in the area of investigations.  And she apparently was not going to play the political games typically played in Greensboro.     

Hard Times at the NC State Legislature

From the NC Spin e-mail newsletter:

It is becoming more obvious that the strains of a bad economy are starting to show...

The State Health Plan was the big controversy of the week...

Democratic Senators were completely caught off guard when Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, who has become the chief (and apparently only significant) spokesperson in the Senate for the plan, offered an amendment to break the logjam that eliminated the controversial (pharmacy benefit) provision but increased dependent premium costs. As is generally the case in our State Senate, this decision was made behind closed doors without proper warning for Democrats and left many of them confused and somewhat upset. They said so on the floor of the Senate, at which time Rand decided it was time to take them to the woodshed. Rand called for a recess and a closed door Democratic caucus...

Premiums for dependent coverage will increase even more than had been proposed, making up some 30 million of the proposed savings. Taxpayers will make up the other $51 million...

Because this was done so quickly and behind closed doors, Capitol Press Corps members were understandably confused about what was done and where the money went. After the session they cornered Rand and peppered him with questions. Tony Rand is usually a pretty cool guy, especially when dealing with the media, but became irritable and even jokingly threatened to kick one female reporter...

(Rand) says if we are having this much trouble over saving $51 million, just think of what it is going to be like trying to cut three billion from next year's budget...

(Legislators asked North Carolina State Treasurer) Janet Cowell about her perspective on employee furloughs, another topic of current discussion. Cowell commented that furloughs could be viewed negatively by the rating agencies and threaten our credit rating. Why? These agencies look for signs that our government is acting responsibly, meeting challenges and dealing with them directly. Cowell correctly stated that furloughs might be interpreted as a sign that the state wasn't willing to address the real issue of government expenditures that exceed revenues and could cause the rating agencies to lower their opinion of our state's financial management.

Cowell's remarks reportedly upset some who favor furloughs but should not have.  The Treasurer was asked a specific question about how the markets might view furloughs, not her personal opinion about the practice. She answered, as she should have, as the "keeper of the public purse." 

UNC President Erskine Bowles appeared before legislators that same day urging them to give him authority to furlough employees in lieu of having to fire them, a sentiment supposedly shared by House Speaker Joe Hackney.  

  
 

What does the Federal Stimulus have to do with the White Street Landfill?

Does anyone remember the White Street Landfill?

Recall that Greensboro's residential trash used to go to this landfill until a crusade arose, partially based on identity politics, to cease this particular operation.  We now ship our residential trash elsewhere at considerable expense.  Such a dramatic change must have required the active participation of our fair city's power groups.

We can understand why the Simkins PAC might have had some interest in this issue.  But what about the Melderec bunch?

Here may be part of the answer. It turns out that the federal stimulus is apparently paying for the extension of East Cone Boulevard and Nealtown Road.   I am told the intersection of these two roads is at the site of the landfill; and that there is a parcel with hundreds of acres that has never been used at that location.

Given the fact that a big new $10 million road will be serving the vicinity, do you think some of that unused land might have been considered ripe for development?  And could the prospect of development have been one of the motivators with respect to the original decision to close the White Street Landfill to residential trash?

Anderson Cooper at Elon: A Lesser Known Piece of Trivia

Most of us are familiar with liberal heartthrob/CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.  Dome reports today that he will be speaking soon at Elon University.

Here is one factoid that not every CNN viewer knows: Mr. Cooper is a descendant of one of the Robber Barons (one who happens to have had roots in my home town, and who is entombed within walking distance of where I grew up).

The Obama Campaign vs. the Obama Administration: Compare and Contrast

(HT: Conservative NC)

GPD Handling of Officer's Domestic Violence

Hammer:

(Judge Joe) Turner noted it was unfortunate that other police officers at the party didn't stop the argument between Sanchez and Blake before it escalated to physical violence and said, "I am really disappointed in the leadership."

Without (Lorraine) Galloway, who is not from Greensboro and was at the party as a guest of Police Sgt. J.C. Myrick, it appears this whole thing would have been handled without the public knowing anything about it. The Greensboro Police Department tried very hard to sweep it under the rug, but Galloway and the Guilford County District Attorney's Office did not allow that...

It wouldn't make any sense to charge Blake with assaulting Galloway for essentially trying to break up a fight between him and Sanchez and not charge him with assaulting Sanchez, because it would mean that Galloway was lying about the assault on Sanchez but not the assault on herself...

(Officer C.M Schultheis) said he was standing at the window with Galloway after Blake and Sanchez left, but because of the angle he could not see them. Galloway said that Blake had kicked Sanchez and Schultheis said he went to tell Blake's senior officer and said, "Blake is outside assaulting his girlfriend"...

Schultheis said other officers were out in the parking lot and they told Blake that if he didn't calm down he was going to lose his job...

One thing all the witnesses did agree on was that there was a lot of drinking going on at this party. There was testimony that there was a drinking contest with names up on the board of how may "Jager bombs" people could drink.

Blake admitted to having five or six Jager bombs and two-and-a-half beers and to being extremely intoxicated...

The Police Department mishandling of the case did create some inconsistencies. The police officers at the party allowed Blake to leave, even after he had assaulted Sanchez and Galloway. Blake was not questioned that night and was not questioned until Tuesday, Jan. 20. And initially the Police Department charged Blake with assaulting Galloway but not Sanchez.

It certainly appears the higher echelon at the Police Department didn't want Blake to face charges for assaulting Sanchez. The way they treated the case was as if they wanted it to go away. It wasn't until the case got to the Guilford County District Attorney's Office that the decision was made to charge Blake with assaulting his girlfriend.

So why didn't the police go and arrest Blake that night as they would do if it was someone else? One reason may be that if a man is charged with domestic assault, which is assault on a female member of his family or his girlfriend, there is a mandatory 48-hour jail sentence. It is considered a cooling off period and it is required after an arrest, not after a conviction. If the police had gone that night and arrested Blake he would have had to spend two days in the Guilford County Jail, but the way his arrest for assaulting Sanchez was negotiated, he did not have to serve that 48 hours because a judge signed an order saying that it was being waived.

And there was an unrelated report in the news today:

"Domestic violence starts with a shove or a push," (Attorney General Roy Cooper) said. "It's a big step to decide to leave a domestic situation."

Preliminary data shows the homicides were committed by 103 male offenders and 25 female offenders, some of whom had multiple victims. Of those killed, 99 were female and 32 were male.

 

Wisdom from Huckabee and a 12 year old girl

Mike Huckabee:

Huckabee said that when it abolished slavery, the U.S. debated and decided it was immoral for one person to have complete, life-or-death power over another. He said that should not change whether the control involves racial bigotry or a pregnant woman making a decision for her unborn child.

"What are we saying to the generation coming after us when we tell them that it is perfectly OK for one person to own another human being?" Huckabee said. "I thought we dealt with that 150 years ago when the issue of slavery was finally settled in this country, and we decided that it no longer was a political issue, it wasn't an issue of geography, it was an issue of morality. That it was either right or it was immoral that one person could own another human being and have full control even to the point of life and death over that other human being."

And a mere 12 year old girl makes a pretty substantive speech-- and delivers it in a fairly impressive manner-- on the matter of abortion and human life: (HT:Fred)

Local/ Regional Quick Hits 03/26

Some interesting items in local and statewide news:

1. We learned yesterday that ten more Guilford County Schools might be facing sanctions because of inadequate performance.   That would bring our total to 35. 

Recall that opponents of charter schools cite concerns regarding performance.  But these people typically do not advocate closing traditional public schools that are failing. 

Republicans have made their perennial proposal in the state legislature to raise the cap on charter schools.  But that does not necessarily mean any action will be taken by state Democratic leaders, even though Barack Obama has endorsed the concept of charter schools.

2. Pricey Harrison has been busy.  She is proposing to fund needle exchange programs; wants to direct local development incentives to those builders and developers that are "green"; wants to earmark state money for green businesses; pushed for a law to limit automobile emissions in the state; looks to raise our automobile taxes to pay for mass transit; and would push state utilities away from coal obtained through mountain-top coal mining.

Perhaps there are arguments that would tend to support each of these initiatives.  But in aggregate, they are a brazen set of left-wing proposals made by Rep. Harrison that will increase energy costs and taxes for consumers and businesses; and have other deleterious effects. 

3. Senator Phil Berger has been busy with more worthwhile activities.  He is questioning why our state gas tax revenues are going to fund an out-of-state climate change organization; and wants North Carolina residents to be able to purchase out-of-state health insurance.  There has been an abundance of good policy ideas from Phil Berger and John Blust this session.

4. The North Carolina Senate passed a fix to the State Employees' Health Plan, which had been running significant deficits.  Physicians have been advised statewide that there will be a delay in issuing payments for services under the plan.  This is a classic case of government endeavoring to fix a problem that government created.

5. John Hood posts on the daunting fiscal challenges facing the state of North Carolina, short and long-term, and how that impacts us.  And the state treasurer, Janet Cowell, describes how the long-term projected shortfalls in the state pension system threaten North Carolina's bond rating.  And the people of the state remain in denial.

6. The Dunn Daily Record identifies more problems with Governor Perdue's proposed budget.  It projects more tax revenue than is realistic given the recession.  And it cuts fewer positions than it represents.  Somehow, we should not be surprised.

Anti-Bullying

A great post over at Conservative NC discusses common-sense anti-bullying legislation in Raleigh.

The fact that the proposal makes sense, and exudes logic, does not mean that it will see the light of day in a political environment such as that we have in North Carolina. 

Wow!

A British MP upbraids the prime minister on economic matters.  The same message needs to be delivered, face-to-face, to Barack Obama. (HT:AT)

City Council Accountability for the GPD Fiasco

At various times over the last couple of years, we have discussed the extent to which the City Council that served during 2005 and early 2006 should be held accountable for the GPD fiasco.  Some parties have stressed the responsibility of Mitchell Johnson and Linda Miles.  But I have suggested at various times that City Council members from that time period should be held accountable.

How can the actions of individual council members be tied to the GPD fiasco?  There are several ways:

1. Recall that then-council members Don Vaughan and Claudette Burroughs White participated in a meeting on the matter early after having been contacted by Joe Williams.  From my summary of one of the installments in the Bledsoe series:

That same day, City Council member Don Vaughan dropped in on Wray and told him he had been discussing the matter of black officers being mistreated with Joe Williams.   Vaughan brokered a meeting the following day between Wray and Williams.  Council member Claudette Burroughs White and Assistant Chief Bellamy were also present.    Wray and Williams  both articulated their respective points of view, and apparently did not reach an understanding.  Wray said, "Joe was pretty concerned and was strongly advocating his concern."

2. Jerry Bledsoe also reported that Mitchell Johnson met with council members immediately before he was going to lock David Wray out of his office.  It seems doubtful he would have taken such a drastic action without consulting council members.  The premise that the city council did not consent to his decision seems doubtful.

3. Recall the recent recording of the closed city council session during which Johnson was fired.  During that session, Sandra Anderson Groat spoke.  She described in some detail the weekly meetings she had with Mitchell Johnson.  My purpose in pointing this out is not to direct attention to Ms. Groat.  Rather, it is to point out that council members have personal meetings and phone conversations with the city manager throughout the week, and have every opportunity to assert their point of view and communicate expectations.  We also learned during the closed session that some councils are capable of relating their viewpoint quite forcefully.  This makes me believe there was likely more communication from June 2005 through December 2006 between Mitchell Johnson and individual council members on this issue.

4. Ultimately, the city council bears responsibility for the actions of the city manager.  It is their responsibility to direct and monitor his activities.  They work on behalf of the people to assure he is accountable to them.  They are responsible for knowing what he is doing, and also for assuring that his actions are appropriate.

Why do I point all of this out?

Over the last couple of weeks, it has become apparent that an effort is stirring to cast aspersions at Mary Rakestraw, Trudy Wade and perhaps to a lesser extent Mike Barber.  We are seeing multiple letters to the editor and op-ed pieces in the News and Record.  We have seen the development of a new PAC.  I suspect that some candidacies may be germinating to oppose them on this basis-- and perhaps that has already occurred in Barber's district.

I think this effort, to the extent that it exists, is misguided and wrongheaded.  Rakestraw, Wade and Barber should not be castigated for having done the right thing.

In fact, our task should be to identify those council members who had served since the latter half of 2005 and thereafter who share responsibility for this mess; and take that into consideration if any are running later this year.

Hagan's Latest Moves

We have some interesting developments regarding Greensboro's own Kay Hagan in the United States Senate.

She voted, of course, in favor of the $410 billion omnibus spending bill that was laden with earmarks.  She then proceeded to align herself with a group of so-called moderate Democrats in the United States Senate.

Hagan is very liberal on the social issues.  She is somewhat of a blank slate thus far on national defense and foreign policy.  Her record on fiscal matters in the state legislature was liberal, taking a stance in favor of increasing funding for politically favored programs; and she also voted in favor of a series of tax increases during her tenure.  If she is truly going to be portraying herself as a fiscal moderate, then we simply need to watch the way she votes.  Her rhetoric needs to be matched by action.  She was among the group of Washington players who ostentatiously voiced their outrage over the bonuses at AIG; but we need to remember that she had voted in favor of the bloated, inappropriate stimulus bill and also the earmark-packed omnibus bill.

The problem, of course, is that if she truly acts like a moderate, she will need to vote against her party's leadership repeatedly.  It will be interesting to see whether she does that.

Some may take a certain signal from that fact that she came out in opposition to the siting of a Navy airfield in the northeast part of our state.  

In any case, there has been some polling on her performance thus far.  Public Policy Polling has her approval/disapproval at 36/34.  Civitas had it at 47/22.   She did not break the 50% approval level in either poll.

The people of the state of North Carolina hardly know her yet.  I do not know what her approval numbers will be when they do.     

Peter Schiff on CNBC re: Economic Mess

The following YouTube features Peter Schiff, who predicted the current economic travails several years ago.  He was interviewed on CNBC recently with some other guests (HT: AT):

John Kass on Obama's Recent Errors

John Kass of the Chicago Tribune on Barack Obama's recent missteps, and what it all means:

If Obama were a Republican, he'd be toast, since Republicans have been cast as unfeeling monsters in the two-dimensional cartoon that is American politics on TV. But Obama is a Democrat, beloved by the glassy-eyed media as a symbol of hope and change, even if guys from Chicago's City Hall run his administration. So the gaffe will soon wash over him...

Democrats began shrieking in pretend outrage over the bonuses, as if they didn't vote for them, sort of like Chicago aldermen shrieking about corruption from the 5th Floor...

These days, the Washington Way is looking just like the Chicago Way. Those of us from Illinois can see it, what with City Hall guys pulling White House strings.

Then again, we're not surprised because we don't get the high-grade Hopium out here in the Midwest. The good stuff must be reserved for the Beltway media establishment, since they're the ones feeling tingles running up their legs.

Yet even they'll figure out that the Chicago Way runs along Pennsylvania Avenue, once the Hopium wears off and the tingling stops. It'll probably take about eight years for their heads to clear.

In the meantime, all last week, the ludicrous Angry-Democrat-vs.-Greedy-AIG slapstick was highly entertaining, except when you realize the premise of the joke is that American taxpayers are so stupid we'll believe anything...

(I)t makes perfect sense back here, where we get only that weak schwag Hopium. They cut the deal in some back room, and Geithner is being measured as the fall guy. It sounds just like Chicago's City Hall.

ObamaCare Update

In some respects, things have been relatively quiet on the health care front as Barack Obama and his team appear to have undermined their own credibility on  economic matters.  But that does not mean that the health care issue will remain dormant forever.

In fact, there is currently a plan to try to pass health care reform by the summer.  Obama's budget, to be considered before then, includes a $634 billion dollar "down payment" on his health care plan.  It has already been demonstrated, however, that the ultimate cost will far exceed this initial allotment.  One estimate suggests health care reform will cost $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

It has been claimed that Congressional Democrats will attempt to use a parliamentary maneuver known as "reconciliation" to avoid a filibuster of health care reform in the Senate, and slam through proposed legislation.

But Barack Obama attempted a very disingenuous rhetorical ploy during his address to Congress one month ago.  He made the assertion that health care reform is critical to rehabilitating our national economy.  That, of course, is an awful lie.  This is the overarching point, however, that he has been using to sell the plan.

This allegation, however, is contradicted by the Congressional Budget Office.  Some interesting points:

(T)he assertion that the costs of providing health insurance cripples American corporations in the global economy is simply wrong.

CBO director Douglas W. Elmendorf explained this last week to the Senate Committee on Finance, which is chaired by Max Baucus, a leading proponent of government health care. The point is that for employers, health care is merely a part of total compensation: It reduces cash compensation for employees but it does not increase costs of employment. To argue otherwise is to argue for lower total U.S. compensation -- that is, lower wages for U.S. workers. Said Mr. Elmendorf, "the costs of providing health insurance to their workers are not a competitive disadvantage to U.S.-based firms"...

(A) recent CBO report ("Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals, " December 2008) is clear on one issue: Working to achieve universal coverage through expanding government's role in health care will increase total costs and therefore either increase premiums or taxes, not reduce them. As for the argument that the uninsured shift costs, Mr. Elmendorf was quite direct dispelling this myth in his testimony before Mr. Baucus's committee. "Overall," he said, "the effect of uncompensated care on private-sector payment rates appears to be limited."

Senators of both parties recognize that Obama does not propose to fix Medicare and Medicaid, both of which will overwhelm US taxpayers in several years.  Both the recession and the stimulus bill will cause Medicaid to expand significantly.  And there is recognition on Capitol Hill that Obama has not yet even begun to find savings in the current system. 

But the Senate is expected to play the lead in writing the health care reform bill.  Some are justifiably concerned that offering government-sponsored insurance to the uninsured will ultimately crowd out private insurers.

Big business will be on board with health care reform this time, because they will be more than pleased to have government take this burden off its collective plate.  This is consistent with other contexts we have recently seen in which large corporations are gladly welcoming increased governmental involvement in matters that used to be the province of the private sector.

Michael Tanner has identified the quandary that will undermine Obama's success: he cannot expand coverage, increase covered treatments and control costs simultaneously.  It cannot be done.  And Tanner points out some of the real economic shortcomings regarding universal health care as it has evolved overseas.

Maybe the facts will ultimately trip up health care reform.  But the Democrats still have a huge legislative majority to their advantage, so the facts may not ultimately matter.

We have begun to witness the astonishing price tab associated with the Obama presidency, during which it has become fashionable to discuss trillions of dollars as if it is no big deal.  But there is a growing perception that the president has overreached; and the commentariat is beginning to abandon him as his fecklessness comes into sharper focus.

Let us hope that, in the long run, health care reform is defeated by Barack Obama himself.

A Tea Party in Raleigh

Red Clay reports on a tea party that was held in Raleigh this weekend.

A Vexing Dilemma: Wind Turbines Kill Bats

Sometimes green solutions are not entirely green.

We learn today that wind turbines cause low pressure, leading to barotrauma and internal hemorrhaging in bats.  This causes them literally to explode.  Bats ordinarily play an important role in the ecosystem because they limit insect populations. 

Apparently, there is the potential to lose millions of bats due to this phenomenon.

The operators have to turn the turbines off when wind speeds are slow to reduce this effect on bats; but this cuts energy production, and some bats even then are still killed.

This represents a potential spat between two groups of progressives.  Which of the two should win on this conflict?  Those that push green energy alternatives; or those that protect biodiversity and the viability of animal populations at all costs?

Perhaps we ought to let them fight this one out.

Greensboro Partnership Argues for Previous Status Quo

In the op-ed section of the News and Record this morning, there was a piece jointly written by the presidents of each of the three components comprising the Greensboro Partnership.

Their article was fairly similar to that written by Bill Carstarphen which was run last week.  It cited all the shopworn reasons why city council members and county commissioners-- the elected representatives of the people-- should not interject themselves into the management of their respective jurisdictions.  According to these parties, elected officials should behave much like potted plants; and representative democracy should carry little weight.

These parties claimed concern over what is happening on the Guilford Board of County Commissioners.  But interestingly, they did not speak up until Mitchell Johnson was terminated as city manager.  I don't think that is a mere coincidence.

We need to remember that Action Greensboro, a non-profit organization, gave $5,000.00 to the Simkins PAC during the last election cycle, in likely violation of the law.  The president of this organization was one of the authors of today's N&R article.  Recall that Action Greensboro is one of the three components of the Greensboro Partnership.

And let's also remember that proud day several years ago when our local business establishment appeared before our City Council to express concern over the taping of local black professionals that was being trumpeted by the city at that time; and to give support to the city for the approach it was taking on that issue.  Of course, the city of Greensboro and the Greensboro Partnership were dead wrong.  And the credibility of the Partnership as a legitimate, independent voice of the local business community is now utterly open to question.  The Partnership receives funding from our local units of government; and is granted priority input into decisions and plans made.

When readers review today's article, they should consider the content of this YouTube, which has one of the most astonishing displays of mutual fawning, obsequious behavior that we could ever hope to see:

Obama's Judicial Appointments and his record on Human Life: Bipartisan?

When President George W. Bush assumed the presidency, he extended an olive branch to Congressional Democrats when he renominated one of President Clinton's judicial nominees-- Roger Gregory.  It has been suggested that Obama should do the same thing, and act in a bipartisan fashion by renominating some of Bush's nominees. 

Of course, it seems unlikely that will ever happen.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are planning a maneuver to push Obama's nominees through the committee process.  The Senate has had a longstanding tradition referred to as the "blue slip" privilege, which allows senators to veto home state nominees.  But Pat Leahy has been threatening to take that privilege away from Republican senators. 

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich annotates the cumulative assault on human life and also on conscience protections during Obama's new administration.  It has been a bloodbath, and it likely will get worse, particularly with Obama's key appointments and judicial nominees. 

Bipartisan, moderate and pragmatic.  Some on the left still believe that about Barack Obama and his accomplices in the United States Congress.  But some of us know better, because we observe what they do.