The AC Phoenix November Issue

In Our 29th Year

Issue No. 2012

Alisa Martin Promoted to General Manager at Church’s Chicken

by John Raye

Alisa Martin is one happy camper these days. After working some 25 years in the fast food business, Martin finally has her own store and in a certain way, the realization of a long held dreams… she is now her own boss!

At last, Alisa Martin is the, well….the lady in charge!

Last month, after working for the last three years as the assistant manager at Church’s Chicken on New Walkertown Road, Martin finally reached up and took hold of the brass ring—she was promoted to the General Manager’s position at the busy Walkertown store.

The excitement can be heard and felt in her voice.

“I love my job. This is what I’ve done most of my life, starting when I was just a teenager. I’ve worked all over the fast food place, from Sonic, and then Bojangles, to Church’s chicken. But I enjoy what I do”, she said.

Can We Be Friends Again?

by Gerald Green

November 2012

Associate Consultant

Actually, Martin got into the fast food industry at a very early age. “I got started real early because I needed a way to make some money. My first job was at Burger King, and I was 15 years old”, she said.

For the next 25 years, she changed stores and location, but never left the industry. She credits her success and longevity to friends and mentors she met during her long stay in the fast food industry.

“I’ve really been blessed and I am very thankful for all the many friends, family members and mentors who helped me become successful. I work very hard to be successful but I didn’t do it by myself. I know I’ve been blessed to have this position”, said Martin.

“I am so thankful for people like Calvin Sally and Stuart Butler and others who really helped me grow and develop in this position”, she said. “ And my parents, Frank and Ethel Burkes who live in Waynesville, North Carolina who came to the store to see me in my new position”.

Martin has a strong education background with degrees and certification in occupation technology and as a medical assistant. Still, she has no plans to leave the fast food business.

“I love people. I love meeting the public. I love working with people. I love the challenge and the responsibility that comes with this position”, she said.

In addition to her promotion as Church’s general manager, Martin has another reason to be glowing with sustained excitement.

“Well, I found a good man and got married this past August”, she said with a wide smile spreading across her face. “I have a good husband to go home to, and I have my three children, Tavarus, Donald and Nautica”, she said. An expressive woman with a bubbly personality and [Continued on page 13]

The Presidential elections in recent years have seemingly become more and more personal, oftentimes appearing as a war between races and within races. The politics of upper management in some private sectors of business alluded to the possibility of employment loss if employees supported a particular candidate.

However as egregious as this may sound, it was quite prevalent in this

year’s Presidential election. But this idiocracy was not the most common ignorance, the division and loss of friendship due to differences of opinions and candidate preferences apparently rose to the forefront. Many relationships and friendships were severed as a result of events surrounding personal choices, beliefs and support of local, state and national candidates during this month’s election. [Continued on page 12]

Serving the Triad

Free

Sugar and Spice Celebrating Four Great Years

Chanthini Palmer

There were no clowns, bands, proclamations, parades or high flying, high-fives but a quiet celebration is going on at the Sugar and Spice Child Enrichment Center located in the bedroom community of Kernersville.

Its quiet a birthday celebration for Sugar and Spice, a state of the art child care facility now celebrating its fourth birthday!

Built from the ground up as a cost of more than $2 million dollars, the facility, located at 1414 Union Cross Road, is thriving and expanding in spite of a recessionary economy that has upended the careers of thousands of employees.

Located a mere stone’s throw from the nowclosed Dell computer plant on Union Cross Road, Sugar and Spice has not yet felt the economic pinch that has forced many businesses, like Dell, to shut down.

“Oh, the overall situation with the economy has affected us but not a whole lot. We’ve not had to cut staff or lay off anyone, and we are thankful”, said Chanthini Palmer, the visionary founder of Sugar and Spice. [Continued on page 7]

Inside This Issue Tavis Smiley - The Last of the Loud

pg 3

Open Letter to President Obama

pg 4

Is Bottle Water Making You Fat

pg 6

Prediabetes - Do You Have It?

pg 10

Obamacare: How Does It Really Affect Blacks

pg 12

Uncluttered Home Without a Tacky Shed

pg 14

2 The AC Phoenix November 2012

November 2012 The AC Phoenix 3 whether and how Black folk should push President to get drowned out over the next four years.

Obama now that “he has nothing to lose.”

There’s a whole lot of pushing going on.

There is a line of folk wrapped around the White House who intend to collect on the Obama promisThis is real simple for me. With all due respect to the sory note they’ve been holding since 2008. Where are formidable coalition of Latinos, women, and young African Americans in that line? Are African Americans voters, Barack Obama would not be sitting in the Oval even in the line?

Office right now had Black folk stayed home in their “house slippers.” African Americans are his most loyal We celebrate this electoral victory today, but what constituency and everybody in the Obama reelection about tomorrow? How tragic would it be at the end of campaign and in the Obama White House knows it. eight years to be confronted by economic data which The president owes Black folk. BIG time. suggests (as the data does now) that in the Obama The poet Gwendolyn Brooks had this wonderful re- era Black folk lost ground in every single leading frain, “the last of the loud.” Respectfully, somebody economic indicator category? I shudder at the very Tavis Smiley PBS talk show host, PRI radio host has to remind the president day in and day out of the thought. So should you. debt he owes Black America. After four years of being sidelined and silenced, it’s time to get loud. We have Are we going to be the last of the loud, or just the to be willing to engage even if we are “the last of the last?

This past Sunday on Meet the Press, the presidential loud.” historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said the following, Tavis Smiley PBS talk show host, PRI radio host “Latinos, women and young people that is the new Our Latino brothers and sisters immediately (as in the governing coalition.” day after the election) jumped on a national media conference call to make it clear that they saved the OUCH. president in some key battleground states. I ain’t mad To be sure, there are Black folk in each of those cate- at ‘em. That’s exactly what they should have done. gories. But since President Obama’s victory on Elec- Black folk taught the disenfranchised masses how to tion Day, I have been troubled by the paltry attention make demands in the name of unarmed truth and paid to the record turnout amongst African Ameri- unconditional love. Ready for the hard truth? At the cans to make Mr. Obama only the fourth Democrat moment, our Latino brothers and sisters are better in a century to be reelected to a second term. I know examples of the Black prophetic tradition than are Doris Kearns Goodwin, so I don’t think she intended Black folk.

The Last of the Loud

to suggest that Black votes don’t matter. But there is this creepy sense that in the midst of this historic moment in Black history, Black Americans are being pushed off stage. And while Black Americans are being pushed off the stage, there is a growing debate on the internet and in the mainstream media about

Word now comes that many Black notables will join together at a national symposium later this week to discuss the state of Black America and the road ahead. We will see if Black leaders are finally ready to turn up the volume. If we aren’t, well, we’re just going

4 The AC Phoenix November 2012

An Open Letter to President Obama ... from Michael Moore Dear President Obama: Congratulations on decisively winning your second term as our president! The first time you won four years ago, most of us couldn’t contain our joy and found ourselves literally in tears over your victory.

This time, it was more like breathing a huge sigh of relief. But, like the smooth guy you are, you scored the highest percentage of the vote of any Democrat since Lyndon Johnson, and you racked up the most votes for a Democratic president in the history of the United States (the only one to receive more votes than you was ... you, in ‘08!). You are the first Democrat to get more than 50% of the vote twice in a row since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

This was truly another historic election and I would like to take a few minutes of your time to respectfully ask that your second term not resemble your first term.

It’s not that you didn’t get anything done. You got A LOT done. But there are some very huge issues that have been left unresolved and, dammit, we need you to get some fight in you. Wall Street and the uber-rich have been conducting a bloody class war for over 30 years and it’s about time they were stopped.

I know it is not in your nature to be aggressive or confrontational. But, please, Barack – DO NOT listen to the pundits who are telling you to make the “grand compromise” or move to the “center” (FYI – you’re already there). Your fellow citizens have spoken and we have rejected the crazed ideology of this Republican Party and we insist that you forcefully proceed in bringing about profound change that will improve the lives of the 99%. We’re done hoping. We want real change. And, if we can’t get it in the second term of a great and good man like you, then really – what’s the use? Why are we even bothering? Yes, we’re that discouraged and disenchanted.

At your first post-election press conference last Wednesday you were on fire. The way you went all “Taxi Driver” on McCain and company (“You talkin’ to me?”) was so brilliant and breathtaking I had to play it back a dozen times just to maintain

When Are WE Going to Get Over It?

by Andrew M. Manis

For much of the last forty years, ever since America “fixed” its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, “When are African Americans finally going to get over it?

Now I want to ask: “When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?

Recent reports that “Election Spurs Hundreds’ of Race Threats, Crimes” should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in “Bombingham,” Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than “talk the talk.”

Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.

We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent.

Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes.

Criticize them, yes.

Call for their impeachment, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the [Continued on page 14]

the contact high. Jesus, that look – for a second I thought laser beams would be shooting out of your eyes! MORE OF THAT!! PLEASE!!

In the weeks after your first election you celebrated by hiring the Goldman Sachs boys and Wall Street darlings to run our economy. Talk about a buzzkill that I never fully recovered from. Please – not this time. This time take a stand for all the rest of us – and if you do, tens of millions of us will not only have your back, we will swoop down on Congress in a force so large they won’t know what hit them (that’s right, McConnell – you’re on the retirement list we’ve put together for 2014).

BUT – first you have to do the job we elected you to do. You have to take your massive 126-electoral vote margin and just go for it.

Here are my suggestions: 1. DRIVE THE RICH RIGHT OFF THEIR FISCAL CLIFF. The “fiscal cliff” is a ruse, an invention by the Right and the rich, to try and keep their huge tax breaks. On December 31, let ALL the tax cuts expire. Then, on January 1, put forth a bill that restores the tax cuts for 98% of the public. I dare the Republicans to vote against that! They can’t and they won’t. As for the spending cuts, the 2011 agreement states that, for every domestic program dollar the Republicans want to cut, a Pentagon dollar must also be cut. See, you are a genius! No way will the Right vote against the masters of war. And if by some chance they do, you can immediately put forth legislation to restore all the programs we, the majority, approve of. And for God’s sake, man – declare Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid untouchable. They’re not bankrupt or anywhere near it. If the rich paid the same percentage of Social Security tax on their entire income – the same exact rate everyone else pays – then there will suddenly be enough money in Social Security to last til at least the year 2080!

2. END ALL THE WARS NOW. Do not continue the war in Afghanistan (a thoroughly losing proposition if ever there was one) for two full more years! Why should one single more person have to die FOR NO REASON? Stop it. You know it’s wrong. Bin Laden’s dead, al Qaeda is decimated and the Afghans have to work out their own problems. Also, end the drone strikes and other covert military activities you are conducting in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Colombia and God knows where else. You think history is going to remember the United States as a great democracy? [Continued of page 11]

November 2012 The AC Phoenix 5

Thank You by pefncadmin

As we gather with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, PEFNC has much to be thankful for. Due to your efforts and support, parental school choice in North Carolina made headlines throughout 2012: More than 1,200 parents, children, clergy, school leaders and legislators rallied and marched at the General Assembly in May during PEFNC’s Legislative Day in support of Opportunity Scholarships for low-income children.

The state Board of Education approved 34 new public charter schools - nine in March through the fast track process and 25 in September through the regular process. Once these schools open, North Carolina will have 132 public charters operating in 54 of the state’s 100 counties.

Governor-elect Pat McCrory has voiced support for increasing the number of public charter schools and providing opportunity scholarships to students who are struggling academically. Read more here.

We have a lot to be thankful this year regarding education reform, but PEFNC is most thankful for the people who make our work possible – YOU! With your support and voice, we will continue working to ensure that every child can access a quality school regardless of where they live or how much their family makes. 2013 is shaping up to be a tremendous year for our state’s children!

From all of us at PEFNC, thank you for your support.

6 The AC Phoenix November 2012

Is Bottle Water Making You Fat? Do chemicals lurking in bottled water and canned food increase your abdominal fat?

A new study from Harvard School of Public Health and published in the journal Environmental Health found that commonly-found toxins in plastics are linked to both general obesity and abdominal obesity. Known as Bisphenol A or BPA for short, these hormone disruptors have been primarily found in plastic, including plastic food and beverage packaging.

Harvard scientists studied the effects of BPA to see low-dose exposures of the toxin increased abdominal or general fat in humans. They were aware of previous studies showing that lowdose BPA increased obesity in rodents. The scientists assessed the urinary BPA concentrations, body mass index, and waist circumference in 2747 adult men and women ranging in age from 18 to 74. BPA can be found as a component of some types of plastic bottles, and also in the lining inside of canned foods.

Since BPA is a known ”xenoestrogen”, it’s been linked in animal studies (at surprisingly small doses) to all sorts of various health issues such as cancer, metabolic disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and fertility problems and birth defects or miscarriages… and of course, any xenoestrogens in large enough amounts can trigger your body to hold onto abdominal fat (aka – stubborn belly fat).

The major offenders to look for are polycarbonate bottles (some plastics with the #7 symbol on the bottom are polycarbonate, but not all) and also canned foods, since the lining of most canned foods contains BPA, which can leach into food. The longer that a can of food sits on a shelf and the higher the temperature, the more BPA can leach into your food. The same can be said for polycarbonate bottles that contain food or drinks.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), BPA was detected in the bodies of 95% of Americans in one CDC study (this is a worldwide issue though, not just limited to the US).

The Environmental Working Group reports, “analysis of our tests reveals that for one of every five cans tested, and for one-third of all vegetables and pastas (ravioli and noodles with tomato sauce), a single serving would expose a pregnant woman to BPA at levels that fall within a factor of 5 of doses linked to birth defects — permanent damage of developing male reproductive organs“.

Their findings aren’t surprising given the toxin is a known hormone and metabolism disruptor. The higher the urinary concentrations of BPA (indicating higher exposures), the more likely a person was obese and experiencing abdominal obesity. The adults with the highest amounts of BPA in their urine were 75 percent more likely to be obese than those with the lowest amounts of BPA. They concluded that “higher BPA exposure is associated with general and central obesity in the general adult population in the United States.”

[Continued on page 13]

November 2012 The AC Phoenix 7

Sugar and Spice Celebrating Four Great Years [Continued from page 1]

The Dell closure forced more than 400 employees to join the ranks of the unemployed. But the closure had little effect on the neighboring Sugar and Spice facility.

“Well, first of all, we were not dependent upon the Dell company for our livelihood. We already had pretty good attendance before the Dell plant shut down, so it didn’t really affect us that much”, said Palmer, the owner of a similar but smaller child care facility Galax, Virginia.

It’s hard to miss the 9,000 square foot facility that looks more like a private school or an upscale retail outlet than a state of the arts child care facility.

The three- plus acre campus with well-cared grounds, spacious parking facilities and the latest outdoor playground equipment is the culmination of a vision that was formed in the mind of Palmer decades ago.

“Both my mother and grandmother

worked in the day care business so after a short stint as a school teacher, I knew this was the best way out for me”, she said.

Palmer holds degrees from North Carolina Central University and North Carolina State University where she graduated with a Master’s degree in counseling and human resource development.

The ultra modern building is a can’t miss site as seen from busy Union Cross Road. Inside are, beautifully constructed, individual classrooms designated for each age category. Posted outside the door of each classroom are photos, credentials, hobbies and other background information about classroom teachers. The eye-popping wall murals featuring life-size sketches with the likes of Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel & Gretel, Peter Rabbit, Three Little Bears, etc., are sure to fire the imagination of both parent and child alike.

Each classroom is electronically monitored with cameras and audio recording equipment posted inside and outside the facility.

“Our focus [Continued on page 13]

8 The AC Phoenix November 2012

November 2012 The AC Phoenix 9

10 The AC Phoenix November 2012

Prediabetes: Do You Have It? While diabetes occurs in people of all ages and races, some groups have a higher risk for developing the disease than others, including: African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, as well as seniors.

This means these groups are also at increased risk for developing prediabetes.

What is Prediabetes?

Before most people develop full-blown diabetes, they likely suffer from prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar is higher than normal but not so high that an individual is considered diabetic.

People with prediabetes are at greater risk for heart disease, and as many as 65 percent of prediabetics go on to develop type 2 diabetes. The problem is that very few people know they have it There are three different tests your doctor can use to determine whether you have prediabetes: 1. The A1C test 2. The fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) 3. or the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) The blood glucose levels measured after these tests determine whether you have a normal metabolism, or whether you have prediabetes or diabetes.

If your blood glucose level is abnormal fol-

lowing the FPG, you have impaired fasting glucose (IFG); if your blood glucose level is abnormal following the OGTT, you have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Both are also known as prediabetes.

If you fall into a risk group for diabetes, take some steps to find out if you have prediabetes, and to prevent it from developing into full-fledged diabetes: 1. Get tested. People with prediabetes won’t suffer any obvious physical symptoms of the disorder, Tobin says, and the only way to determine whether you have it is with a glucose tolerance test.

The most accurate test is an oral glucose tolerance test, which is used less frequently than the cheaper, less accurate, fasting glucose tolerance test.

2. Get to the doctor. In order to get tested, you have to visit your doctor regularly.

The tests are usually performed during an annual physical, but one characteristic among patients in this study who had prediabetes is that 17 percent had not been to a doctor in the previous year.

3. Don’t live in denial. People at high risk for diabetes, whether they have prediabetes or not, are often in denial about it, Tobin says. But, she reiterates, “there is something you can do about this, and get really fantastic results.” If you’re genetically predisposed to diabetes or your doctor has suggested that you’re at risk, meet with a nutritionist who can help you find the best foods to treat diabetes, and start walking for 30 minutes every day. Fruits, vegetables, and exercise never landed anyone in the hospital!

By Lucas Johnson, BDO Staff Writer

November 2012 The AC Phoenix 11 [Continued from page 10] No, they’re going to think of us as a nation that became addicted to war. They’ll call us warlords. They’ll say that in the 21st century America was so in need of oil that we’d kill anyone to get it. You know that’s where this is going. This has to stop. Now. 3. END THE DRUG WAR. It is not only an abysmal failure, it has returned us to the days of slavery. We have locked up millions of African-Americans and Latinos and now fund a private prison-industrial complex that makes billions for a few lucky rich people. There are other ways to deal with the drugs that do cause harm – ways built around a sense of decency and compassion. We look like a bunch of sadistic racists. Stop it.

4. DECLARE A MORATORIUM ON HOME FORECLOSURES AND EVICTIONS. Millions of people are facing homelessness because of a crooked system enacted by the major banks and Wall Street firms. Put a pause on this and take 12 months to work out a different way (like, restructuring families’ mortgages to reflect the true worth of their homes).

5. GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS. You already know this one. The public is sick of it. Now’s the time to act.

6. EXPAND OBAMACARE. Your health care law doesn’t cover everyone. It is a cash cow for the insurance industry. Push for a single-payer system – Medicare for All – and include dentistry and mental health. This is the single biggest thing you could do to reduce the country’s deficit.

7. RESTORE GLASS-STEAGALL. You must put back all the rigid controls on Wall Street that Reagan, Clinton and the Bushes removed – or else we face the possibility of another, much worse, crash. If they break the law, prosecute them the way you currently go after whistleblowers and medical marijuana dispensaries.

8. REDUCE STUDENT LOAN DEBT. No 22-year-old should have to enter the real world already in a virtual debtors’ prison. This is cruel and no other democracy does this like we do. You were right to eliminate the banks as the profit-gouging lenders, but now you have to bring us back to the days when you and I were of college age and a good education cost us little or next to nothing. A few less wars would go a long to way to being able to afford this.

9. FREE BRADLEY MANNING. End the persecution and prosecution of an American hero. Bush and Cheney lied to a nation to convince us to go to war. Manning allegedly hacked the war criminals’ files and then shared them with the American public (and the world) so that we could learn the truth about Iraq and Afghanistan. Our history is full of such people who “break the law” for the greater good of humanity. Army Specialist Bradley Manning deserves a medal, not prison.

10. ASK US TO DO SOMETHING. One thing is clear: none of the above is going to happen if you don’t immediately mobilize the 63,500,000 who voted for you (and the other 40 million who are for you but didn’t vote). You can’t go this alone.

You need an army of everyday Americans who will fight alongside you to make this a more just and peaceful nation. In your 2008 campaign, you were a pioneer in using social media to win the election. Over 15 million of us gave you our cell numbers or email addresses so you could send us texts and emails telling us what needed to be done to win the election. Then, as soon as you won, it was as if you hit the delete button. We never heard from you again. (Until this past year when you kept texting us to send you $25. Inspiring.) Whoever your internet and social media people were should have been given their own office in the West Wing – and we should have heard from you. Constantly. Need a bill passed? Text us and we will mobilize! The Republicans are filibustering? We can stop them!

They won’t approve your choice for Secretary of State? We’ll see about that! You say you were a community organizer. Please – start acting like one.

The next four years can be one of those presidential terms that changed the course of America. I’m sure you will want to be judged on how you stood up for us, restored the middle class, ended the s***ting on the poor and made us a friend to the rest of the world instead of a threat. You can do this. We can do it with you. All that stands in the way is your understandable desire to sing “Kumbaya” with the Republicans. Don’t waste your breath. Their professed love of America is negated by their profound hatred of you. Don’t waste a minute on them. Fix the sad mess we’re in. Go back and read this month’s election results.

We’re with you.

Yours, Michael Moore

12 The AC Phoenix November 2012

Obamacare: How Does It Really Affect Blacks?

We’ve been hearing about Obamacare for over two years now, but many people are still very confused about what it’s about, and what it really means for them.

So, how does all of this really effect you?

The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center has estimated that without a mandate, 40 million Americans would remain uninsured.

Meanwhile, the Flexible Spending Accounts that millions of Americans use to save money tax-free for medical expenses will be sliced under the law. FSAs often allow people to put aside up to $5,000 pre-tax; as of 2013, they were to face an annual limit of $2,500.

What the law means for: All Americans

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare” or “the The massive health care law requires doctors to report goodies they get from medical Health Care Law” was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The law includes more than 90 supply companies; changes to existing healthcare policy, and while a few of those changes took affect immediately, most of the larger changes will not happen until 2014. equires all chain restaurants to list calories under every menu item, and includes other provisions, which now remain in place.

Many medical organizations, including the National Medical Association, is applauding the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the law.

What the law means for: Doctors and other health care providers “The ACA is working,” says Dr. Cecil Bright, NMA President. “More seniors can now afford their meds. Young people can stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26. Insurers no longer deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, or drop people because they get sick. We are doing a better job of coordinating care, and we now have better prospects for preventing chronic disease. This is our best opportunity in a generation to overhaul our health care system. We look forward to working with the States and the Administration to ensure that the reforms are fully implemented.”

What the law means for: The uninsured The decision leaves in place the so-called individual mandate — the requirement on Americans to have or buy health insurance beginning in 2014 or face a penalty — although many are exempt from that provision.

Health care providers have already begun making changes based on the 2010 law, and in preparation for what will go into effect in 2014.

In general, medical groups have disagreed over the health care law. In the short term, doctors avoid “chaos” that may have resulted from the law suddenly being dropped or changed, according to Bob Doherty, senior vice president of governmental affairs at the American College of Physicians.

By Lorraine Jones, BDO Staff Writer

Can We Be Friends Again?

[Continued from page 1]

In 2014, the penalty will be $285 per family or 1% of income, whichever is greater. By 2016, it goes up to $2,085 per family or 2.5% of income.

What the law means for: The insured

Now that the elections are over and all of the candidates have been selected, how do we proceed to repair the friendships, the relationships, and the atmosphere in our personal and professional environments? Politics are always going to be politics, and should be viewed as such; but I ask again, how do we get beyond, forget or overlook however Because the requirement remains for people to have or buy insurance, the revenue you choose to phrase it, a year and a half’s worth of bitter debates, disagreements and stream designed to help pay for the law remains in place. So insured Americans may be avoiding a spike in premiums that could have resulted if the high court had tossed out the passionate conversations over politics? It is very devastating and disappointing when your candidate of choice does not win, but is it worth losing a friendship? The candiindividual mandate but left other requirements on insurers in place. date’s have to set aside their differences and begin to try to work together, can we do the same, can we be friends again?

What the law means for: People with Medicare The new law protects guaranteed Medicare benefits. It also improves and expands those benefits, such as lower out-of-pocket drug costs and free Medicare-covered preventative care benefits. Yet another benefit is improved access to primary care doctors. In addition, Medicare recipients will keep getting discounts on drugs to close a gap in coverage known as the “doughnut hole.”

What the law means for: Young adults Millions of young adults up to age 26 who have gained health insurance due to the law will be able to keep it. The law requires insurers to cover the children of those they insure up to age 26. About 2.5 million young adults from age 19 to 25 obtained health coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Two of the nation’s largest insurers, United Healthcare and Humana, recently announced they would voluntarily maintain some aspects of health care reform, including coverage of adult dependents up to age 26, even if the law was scrapped.

What the law means for: People with pre-existing conditions Since the law remains in place, the requirement that insurers cover people with pre-existing medical conditions remains active.

The law also established that children under the age of 19 could no longer have limited benefits or be denied benefits because they had a pre-existing condition.

Starting in 2014, the law makes it illegal for any health insurance plan to use pre-existing conditions to exclude, limit or set unrealistic rates on coverage. It also established national high-risk pools that people with such conditions could join sooner to get health insurance.

More than 13 million American non-elderly adults have been denied insurance specifically because of their medical conditions, according to the Common.

No matter what the Supreme Court had decided, it would have been a mixed bag for all Americans when it comes to federal spending. There is still much discussion about what impact the health care law will have on the country over the long term.

The federal government is set to spend more than $1 trillion over the next decade to subsidize coverage and expand eligibility for Medicaid. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the law could reduce deficits modestly in the first 10 years and then much more significantly in the second decade.

The CBO said a repeal of the mandate could reduce deficits by $282 billion over 10 years, because the government would be subsidizing insurance for fewer people. But the nation faces costs in various ways for having people who are uninsured.

by Gerald Green

November 2012 The AC Phoenix 13

Alisa Martin Promoted to General Manager Is Bottle Water Making You Fat? [Continued from page 6] at Church’s Chicken [Continued from page 1]

an ever present smile, Martin admits to have another secret passion---football. “I just love football. I really do. And let me tell you right here that I am a Steeler fan.

I love the Pittsburgh Steelers. Why? Well, I love the players. They are winners. And Mike Tomlin is a great coach. I went to the game in Charlotte and sat with the Panthers, but I was rooting for the Steelers”, she said smiling.

For the last ten years, Martin has given her all to Church’s Chicken. Some days, her work day ran from noon to closing, which could be anywhere from 12 to 14 hours. But her commitment is self-evident.

“I guess I am a people’s person. In my position at this store, my goal is to continue to improve it, to make it a better place than it was when I came here”. Martin also has another dream, another secret passion; to work with senior citizens, and the elderly.

“I just love meeting people, and I really have a soft spot in my heart for elderly people. Some day, I would like to own my own nursing home or to work as the administrator of a nursing home,” she said.

The fast food business is a tough and demanding business. But not for Alisa Martin.

“It’s not really hard”, she said, “when you love what you do”. And Martin has been doing what she loves…..for the last 25 years.

by John Raye

Sugar and Spice Celebrating Four Great Years [Continued from page 7]

is to educate the whole child. We didn’t want this to be a place where children just come and play, but also to learn and grow. And we wanted a place where children could be safe and involved in a learning environment at the same time’, Palmer said.

“Education is very important. The first five years of a child’s life are extremely important because these are the formative years…and our mission is to educate the whole child,” she said.

Sugar and Spice is currently licensed to accommodate 150 children and currently enjoys a four-star rating, out of a possible five star rating system, which is attainable once other staff educational requirements are met.

“We have an excellent staff of highly qualified individuals with many still working on advance degrees and other certification”, Palmer said.

“And we do something you hardly ever find in the child care business.

We have male employees working at Sugar and Spice, and this is a good thing, “she said.

The facility has also expanded its operating hours. “We are 24/7… operating first, second and third shifts, so we never close. We are not afraid of a little cold wind or snow”, she said. Sugar and Spice is licensed to accommodate 150 children and currently operates with a staff of 37 dedicated employees.

“My biggest challenge is finding and keeping good staff. We didn’t go looking for people who just wanted a paycheck but who had a genuine love and respect for children. and we’re doing ok because over half of my current staff have been with me from the very beginning,” she said.

Enrollment at Sugar and is very diverse with children from all ages, races and background including Hispanics, Asians, Whites and African-Americans. “To do this kind of work, you really have to love children and also it helps to have a sense of humor”, said Palmer who recently remarried and gave birth, at age 41 to a little baby girl.

“I know I’ve been blessed. It’s only by the grace of God that I am able to do what I have done”, she said. And because I love working with children, I simply enjoy what I do”. And just like the nursery rhyme, it appears that everything’s nice at Sugar and Spice!

As a result of studies like the Harvard one, toxins like BPA, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and phthalates are increasingly being referred to as “obesogens.”

What Can You Do To Avoid BPA? 1. Try to always avoid canned foods as much as possible and choose frozen or fresh foods instead. Buy the ingredients yourself and prepare the meal the old fashioned way instead of resorting to canned foods. Also, a better alternative to canned foods is products in glass containers.

2. If you do resort to using canned foods instead of fresh foods, try to find labels that say that the cans are free of BPA. 3. If you need tomato products, always avoid canned varieties and search for tomato sauces, pastes, etc in glass bottles instead (unless the can specifically states that it is BPA-free). Or just make your own tomato dishes from scratch with fresh tomatoes.

4. If you use plastic wrap, plastic ziplock bags, plastic containers for food storage, etc, try to investigate on the label if the product is BPA-free or not. Some brands packaging will label if their products are BPA-free.

5. If you for some reason choose to use a microwave with your food (which by the way, microwaved food is thought to have negative health effects), then by all means, do not microwave the food in plastic containers as it can increase the leaching of chemicals including BPA. 6. If you drink bottled water, or water from reusable plastic bottles, make sure that it is not a polycarbonate bottle, or make sure that the label says BPA-free.

Plastic that shows #7 on the bottom will sometimes contain BPA, but not always. If a bottle shows “PC” on the bottom, it is made from polycarbonate, so it will contain BPA. In addition, sometimes aluminum bottles will contain a lining that has BPA, so avoid these.

7. Never use plastic cups for hot liquids such as hot tea or coffee, as this can accelerate leaching of BPA and other chemicals, depending on the type of plastic.

By Ellis Moore, BDO Staff Writer

14 The AC Phoenix November 2012

Uncluttering Home Without a Tacky Storage Shed For those needing more storage or workspace without a remodel, a local company provides classy, turnkey buildings that match your home but are light on the wallet With many homes and garages cluttered with tools, equipment, and mementos too valuable to toss, more families are looking for additional storage or workspace without the time and expense of a remodel or offsite storage.

“We couldn’t walk around our garage due to the clutter,” says Ken Styers, a homeowner in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Yet we wanted our riding lawnmower, push mower, generator, pressure washer, and other equipment handy – not in costly off-site storage, where we’d have to drive to pick it up every time we needed it.”

But typical storage sheds are old, ugly, inflexible, and often must be replaced long before their owners are done needing them.

“My brother bought a storage shed from one of the big box stores, and has had nothing but trouble from it,” says Styers. “I helped him build a platform to support it, but the floor is rotting where the roof leaks, and the items stored in it are at risk. My wife and I were determined to find strong, durable, attractive storage at the right price.”

Like a growing number of North Carolinians needing more storage or workspace without a remodel, the Styers turned to a local Lexington-based company called Bunce Buildings that provides classy, turnkey buildings that can be custom matched to your home but are light on the wallet.

The quality, custom-built storage buildings are delivered complete, installed, and ready for immediate use for substantially less than big box store retail prices, with a rentto-own option for typically less than the cost of monthly offsite storage. Each building from the smallest 6x6’ to the largest 14x40’ is individually stick-built by skilled craftsmen, with free delivery, set-up, and leveling on your lot within 20 miles of any sales center located throughout the Piedmont Triad. Larger or over-sized buildings, including two-story barns with attic space, can be built on-site.

“We’d been frustrated with the cheap look and quality of the storage sheds we saw at big box stores, when a selection of Bunce Buildings at a dealer caught our eye,” says Glenda Styers, Ken’s wife. “For the price of a smaller storage shed with half a loft, we got a 10x20’Amish Barn Bunce Building with 2.5 lofts, a 40-year steel roof, and 6-foot wide door. The solid construction, cedar-stained fir wood, and strong floor make it look like a home you could live in, not a tacky storage shed.”

Most Bunce Buildings including A-frames and Amish barns

When Are We Going to Get Over It? [Continued from page 4]

perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we’re back in the sixties again.

At this point in our history, we should be proud that we’ve proven what conservatives are always saying -- that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president.

But instead we now hear that school children from Maine to California are talking about wanting to “assassinate Obama.”

Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, “How long?”

come standard with high quality construction such as: 16” on center 2x4 ceiling joists and walls; 16” on center 2x6 treated floor joists; tongue and groove underlayment on all floor decking; choice of 30-year shingles or 40-year steel roof; choice of six colors on Georgia Pacific vinyl siding; choice of Sherwin Williams Woodscapes Acrylic solid color exterior stain, or colors that match your existing home; and building leveling with concrete blocks.

According to the Styers, the benefits of their new Bunce Building are many. With the 6-foot wide door, Glenda Styers can drive her Zero Turn riding lawnmower into the building and park it with plenty of room. Ken Styers appreciates the 40-year steel roof, which will protect his family’s equipment and mementos from bad weather and leaking for decades to come. The building has a workbench, to which he may attach a vice and drill press to tackle various projects with plenty of room to spread out. And the building’s 2.5 lofts allow ample space to put unused items around the house into loft storage.

“We’re finally able to walk around our garage without falling or tripping over the clutter,” says Glenda Styers. “We’ll have room to safely walk around the house when we put less used items into loft storage. The classy extra storage in our yard, where we can get it when we need it, is giving us a fresh start and makes our home feel bigger and brighter without the clutter.”

“With our Bunce Building, we got quality to start with and it’s built to last,” adds Ken Styers. “We’ll save thousands over the years, and won’t have to replace it after a few seasons like we would a tacky shed.”

David Pattisall, a Winston-Salem homeowner and self-proclaimed “pack rat”, needed extra storage to clear out his basement and potentially convert it into an extra family bedroom.

“After comparing the storage buildings of about six local retailers, we bought a 12x24’ Amish Barn with a steel roof from Bunce Buildings,” says Pattisall. “It not only had the best price, but also the best quality. I’ve done some carpentry work, and noticed how the crossbeam cuts were identical and fit together perfectly. The construction is sound.”

“I could’ve got a big box kit, hoped it all fit together, paid extra for the floor, paint, and did it myself, but it would’ve taken me forever,” says Pattisall. “Instead I had my building delivered, set-up, leveled, and ready for use right away – for free. One man used a Mule forklift to maneuver the finished building through the trees in my yard, right into the back corner where I needed it.”

When Tiffany Ramos, a greater Greensboro area homeowner, sought to buy a playhouse for her niece, she wanted one that would capture her imagination yet easily convert to adult use once her niece had outgrown it.

• How long before we white people realize we can’t make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us?

• How long until we white people can once and for all - get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color?

• How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior?

• How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?

• How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin?

• How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist

She bought an 8x12’ Cottage Style Playhouse from Bunce Buildings for use in her mom’s backyard. “As soon as we saw it, we fell in love with it,” says Ramos. “We saw its quality, detail, and customization, for much less than big box store or local vendor prices. We went with roof shingles and a columned porch with pickets and planters to match the house. It has two front and two side windows with screens, some with shutters and some with flower boxes.

There’s even a sleeping loft over the porch with a ladder, and a child door in front, and grown up door in back.”

While her niece truly loves the playhouse, Ramos loves that it’s big enough for an adult to stand upright in it, reach up and still not touch the ceiling, so adult family members can play with her niece and share unforgettable memories.

Yet when her niece outgrows the playhouse, Ramos plans on converting it into a storage or craft area for her mom.

Because of its quality and value that “will save us thousands of dollars in replacement costs over its life,” Ramos and her husband are considering buying another Bunce Building to use for storage and as a “man cave” for her husband.

“We’re planning a divided cottage style building with room on one side for a drive-in mower, tools and a workbench, and room on the other side for a ‘man cave’ with a fridge, sofa, and big screen TV. We’d customize it to match our home’s shingles, siding, and paint color. We’d probably ask Bunce to finish the interior of the man cave, do the preliminary electrical wiring, and rough out a spot for a window AC unit.”

“It’s great knowing these buildings are made in the U.S. by a local family-owned company that’s invested in the community for the last 25 years,” concludes Ramos. “Because they’re here to stay, they go the extra mile to make sure we’re happy and keep coming back.”

Bunce Buildings produces and distributes high-quality storage buildings, playhouses, gazebos, sheds, garages, sunrooms, carports, metal roofing, and play sets. Affordable financing options include rent-to-own at a price that’s typically less than off-site storage rental.

For more info, call 336-250-8564; visit www.buncebuildings.com or write to : Bunce Buildings, 2100 S. Main Street Lexington, NC 27292

By Del Williams Del Williams is a technical writer based in Torrance, California.

loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners?

How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built, I’m going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

How long before we start “living out the true meaning” of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that “red and yellow, black and white” all are precious in God’s sight?

Third, I’m going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can “in spirit and in truth” sing of our damnable color prejudice,

Until this past November 4, I didn’t believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem.

“We HAVE overcome.”

But here’s my three-pointplan:

Second, I’m going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.

It takes a Village to protect our President!!!

Andrew M. Manis is associate professor of history at Macon State College in Georgia and wrote this for an editorial in the Macon Telegraph

November 2012 The AC Phoenix 15