Vol. IV No. 9
Greensboro, North Carolina
www.rhinotimes.com
SECURITY FIRM’S MILLIONS IN TAX LIENS MAKE COUNTY THINK TWICE
Thursday, March 3, 2016
plus Under The Hammer, Uncle Orson Reviews Everything
AND MORE
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RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
THE WEEKLY Hammer
The Weekly Hammer
Government Growing In Your Own Back Yard by John Hammer Editor Conservatives moan and complain about the explosive growth of the federal government, but they don’t seem too hot about the growth of government closer to home.
Greensboro has an 8-to-1 Democratic majority on the City Council, so you would expect growth in government, and we’re getting it. Greensboro is expanding into feeding people. The number of
meals and people served keeps growing. Once these programs start it is devilishly hard to halt them and incredibly easy for them to grow out of control. It seems the current attitude of government is that parents have no responsibility to feed their own children. During the school year it is the responsibility of the schools to feed children. On weekends, children are sent home with backpacks full of food. And now the City of Greensboro is using its parks and recreation program to feed children after school, on weekends and during the summer. Feeding children is undeniably an admirable endeavor, but just because something is a good idea doesn’t mean the city government should do it. And some would argue that everything that the government stays out of is better. Once the government steps in to provide a service, no one else can compete, and it quickly becomes something that is expected from the government. If it is the responsibility of city government to feed children, what about adults? Why should the city government stop feeding people just because they have reached the age of 19 or 20? And soon it will be discovered that some of these children don’t have safe homes. If feeding children is the responsibility of the city government, why not provide them with safe homes away from their parents if the parents aren’t good role models. Nonprofits in Greensboro have a long history of providing free meals to anyone who walks in the door. But if the government is going to take over that role you can expect the nonprofit providers to be put out of business. For example, there was a time when doctors routinely saw patients who couldn’t afford to pay the full cost of their own health care. The doctors charged them what they could afford. It wasn’t a government program, but in many communities it worked pretty well. People received quality health care and paid what they could. Liberals should like the fact that the rich paid more and the poor paid little or nothing. Now that sounds quaint and archaic, but it worked for decades. Then the government got involved, and today increasing numbers of doctors won’t see patients whose bills are paid by the government because the government doesn’t pay enough to cover costs and the cost
of everything has gone up so much medical practices can’t afford it. Greensboro has also gotten into the business of housing the homeless. Once again, at one time on cold nights, churches and nonprofits opened their doors to provide the homeless temporarily with a warm place to spend the night. Now Greensboro has stepped in and is funding the Interactive Resource Center, which is supposed to be a place that provides daytime services for the homeless, not a shelter. You can expect this program to continue to grow. Nonprofits who provide this service are now asking for government funding. Nonprofits are supposed to provide services. The more nonprofits rely on government funding the more they become an arm of the government. Guilford County is now run by Republicans, and one might expect them to try and reduce government to its core functions. Instead, Guilford County is spending an ever-increasing amount of time and money on its Parks and Recreation Department. Guilford County has limited experience in running parks and recreation programs, so it is having problems. But there is no reason for Guilford County to be in that business at all. The vast majority of the people in Guilford County live in Greensboro and High Point, and both cities have long-standing, well-operated parks and recreation programs. Most if not all of the towns in Guilford County – Summerfield, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Gibsonville, Stokesdale, Whitsett, Jamestown and Sedalia – have parks and recreation programs. So although the Guilford County parks and recreation program is for all the people of Guilford County, only about 100,000 aren’t already paying for parks and recreation through their municipal taxes. It’s not a service that Guilford County government needs to provide, not one that it has historically provided and not one that it provides well or affordably. However, now that the county has become involved in the parks and recreation business, it’s hard to get out, despite the fact that it is an expensive duplication of services. And then there is the state government, also run by Republicans, yet it is expanding the number of jobs (continued on page 4)
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RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
table of 2
CONTENTS
WEEKLY HAMMER
17 UNCLE ORSON
SECURITY FIRM’S MILLIONS IN TAX LIENS MAKE COUNTY THINK TWICE
19 REAL ESTATE
BY ORSON SCOTT CARD
BY JOHN HAMMER
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24 YOST COLUMN BY SCOTT D. YOST
BY SCOTT D. YOST
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WILKINS QUESTION RAISES ISSUE OF TAX LIENS BY JOHN HAMMER
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27 ASK CAROLYN ... BY CAROLYN WOODRUFF
39 UNDER THE HAMMER BY JOHN HAMMER
COUNCIL INTO SPEED MEETING BY JOHN HAMMER
11 STATE REP. BLUST ANNOUNCES RUN FOR CONGRESS BY JOHN HAMMER
12 NO HUMANS OR DOGS HAPPY WITH CURRENT SUSIE’S FUND DEBATE BY SCOTT D. YOST
4 6 18 20 23 25 28 31 32 33 38
RHINOS AROUND WORLD RHINO SHORTS SUDOKU CHILDREN’S SCHEDULE THE SOUND OF THE BEEP PUZZLE ANSWERS NEWS OF THE WEIRD NYT CROSSWORD PUZZLE GET FUZZY LETTERS TO THE EDITOR EDITORIAL CARTOON
14 INTEREST RATE DROP
MEANS $9M BUMP IN COUNTY COFFERS
Cindy Johnson on Playa Paraiso in Tulum, Mexico, in January. Send your Rhinos Around the World photos to letters@rhinotimes.com or to PO Box 9023, Greensboro 27429.
yard
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Cover: Guilford County Sheriff’s Department’s 15th annual Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics on Saturday at Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe. Photo by Sandy Groover
PUBLISHER Roy Carroll
(continued from page 2) that require state licenses. Often the licenses require extensive education and hefty yearly fees. Does it really protect the people to have cemetery plot salespeople licensed by the state? What about people who do African hair braiding? What the excessive licensing does is protect the people who have licenses from competition, raising the price of the service for everyone. And it increases the size and scope of state government because every license has to have a bureaucracy to enforce it. Fortunately for me, journalists are
BY SCOTT D. YOST
protected by the First Amendment. So far you don’t have to have a license, any education or even common sense to be a journalist. But the rights of Americans to own guns is also protected by a constitutional amendment, and look at all the regulations and restrictions that have been placed on gun ownership. If you think the news is poorly reported now, imagine how bad it would be if journalists had to have a license approved by the state to write a news article, column or editorial. At one time the idea seemed farfetched, but not today.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John Hammer
GENERAL MANAGER Joann Zollo
managing editor ELAINE HAMMER
creative director ANTHONY COUNCIL
county editor SCOTT D. YOST contributing editor ORSON SCOTT CARD
advertising consultants CHRISTINE CHAPMAN DARDEN KELLY TYE SINGLETON
cartoonist GEOF BROOKS
216 West Market Street, Greensboro NC 27401 P.O. Box 9023, Greensboro NC 27429 | (336) 763-4170 (336) 763-2585 fax | sales@rhinotimes.com | www.rhinotimes.com
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RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
HINOSHORTS
by John Hammer Editor
Voting for judges is tough, since most of us don’t come in contact with judges in our daily lives. In fact, most of us try to stay away from judges at least in their official capacity. But here is a chance to learn something about the people running for judge without getting arrested and going to court. The Greensboro Criminal Defense Lawyers Association is holding a forum for judicial candidates at the Greensboro Shrine Club at 6010 Gate City Blvd. (what most folks still call High Point Road) at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 3.
We have one of the funniest campaigns for state office taking place right here in Guilford County. Both Republican candidates for the office of secretary of agriculture are from Guilford County. First there is Steve Troxler, who is a farmer from Brown Summit and is secretary of agriculture and consumer affairs and has been since 2005. Then you have the challenger, Andy Stevens, who, from his talking points, doesn’t know squat about agriculture. But he has two big issues that convinced him to switch over from his plan to run for the Guilford County Board of Education to run for secretary of agriculture. One is that Troxler won’t allow people with concealed carry permits to carry concealed weapons at the State Fair in Raleigh. The other is that people have to register their backyard chickens with the
Department of Agriculture. The agriculture industry contributes $78 billion to the state’s economy. If you think the oversight of this $78 billion industry should be turned over to someone who says he doesn’t know much about agriculture, and you believe that the right to carry a concealed weapon at the State Fair is a vital issue to the future of this state, then you may want to vote for Stevens. The chicken issue is understandable – if you know the background. The reason that people are being required to register their backyard chicken flocks is that avian flu has decimated the chicken population in other states. Avian flu hasn’t hit North Carolina, but, if it does, the state will need to know where all the chickens are. Chickens and turkeys are a $4 billion industry in the state. It may be an inconvenience for people who have a couple of
chickens in their backyard, but to put a $4 billion industry at risk because of the inconvenience of backyard chicken farmers doesn’t make sense to me. If it does to you, then Stevens is your man. At this point in the election season we always get a lot of questions asking if we are going to do endorsements. We are and they will be in the March 10 edition – next week – just prior to the Tuesday, March 15 primary. We try to correct the mistakes we make in articles, but it’s a lot more fun to correct the mistakes the News & Record makes. In the article about the 561-foot skyscraper being proposed by Roy Carroll, the publisher of this
(continued on page 15)
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Security Firm’s Millions in Tax Liens Make County Think Twice
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by Scott D. Yost The very existence of Guilford County government relies on people paying their taxes. However, Lankford Protective Services Inc. – the security company the county uses heavily for security, and is about to use more – has had $7.2 million in federal tax liens filed against it. Sam Lankford, who owns and runs the company, said that amount had been paid down to under $2 million and that the rest of the debt would be taken care of soon. The Guilford County Board of Commissioners intends to hire two armed special police officers to provide more security at two heavily used county buildings. However, when informed this week by the Rhino Times that Lankford Protective Services has millions in federal tax liens against it, surprised county commissioners and other county officials said they wanted more information on the matter. Before the tax liens came to light, the proposed contract with Lankford was all but a done deal. The commissioners want to increase security at Guilford County’s heavily used human services building at 1203 Maple St. in Greensboro and at the county’s main services building at 325 E. Russell Ave. in High Point. One way they want to do that is by putting armed “special police” officers who have powers of arrest at the two sites. The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to discuss the matter on Thursday, March 3, when they had planned to rubberstamp a contract with Lankford for an armed officer for the Maple Street building, used largely to provide the county’s social services and health services, and another officer for the Russell Avenue building, which is, among other things, home to the county’s social services, tax, register of deeds and elections offices in that city. Commissioners said the $7.2 million in federal tax liens – which Lankford said is down to $2 million – could certainly play a role in determining whether to use Langford for that service. There has been no concerns about the service Lankford has provided the
county in the past. By all accounts that service has been very good. Guilford County Commissioner Hank Henning said this week, upon hearing of the liens, that he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions before knowing all the facts. “I’d need more information,” Henning said. He said different things can lead to tax liens. He said liens can be the result of everything from a company being hit hard by an economic collapse to one that’s simply trying to cheat the government out of taxes. The $7.2 million in assessments against Lankford are for federal 940
and 941 payroll taxes covering most of the years between 2005 and 2015. Commissioner Alan Perdue, who was the director of Guilford County’s Emergency Services before retiring and becoming a commissioner, said that when he was hiring someone or contracting with a service provider, he would consider factors like potential bankruptcies or whether they had major financial problems. “It can affect how long they can provide the service,” Perdue said. Perdue also said he knows that sometimes there can be a legitimate dispute between a company and the federal government over whether an
employee was a contract employee or was one for which taxes had to be paid. Lankford said that he did not wish to go into detail as to how the liens arose but said it is being taken care of. “It’s under $2 million and we’re meeting with the IRS this week,” he said, adding that much more will be paid off soon. “This all came about as a bit of shock to us. It’s been very amicable and they [the IRS] have worked with us. This was not something we knew was going to happen.” Lankford said that once the matter was settled, he would be glad to go
(continued on page 16)
Wilkins’ Question Raises Issue of Security Firm Tax Liens by John Hammer The City of Greensboro has more at stake in its contract with Lankford Protective Services Inc. than Guilford County because the city’s contract with Lankford is larger. The city’s contract, which was approved in February 2014, is for an estimated $1.2 million a year, with possible extensions for a total of five years and an amount of $6.2 million. But the city contract does have a clause that states that Lankford is responsible for paying its taxes. The clause states, “Lankford Protective Services assumes full responsibility for the payment of all assessments, payroll taxes, or contributions, whether State or Federal, as to all employees engaged in the performance of work under this contract.” According to the federal tax
liens placed against Lankford, the company failed to pay its employee withholding taxes, which is how it ran up a $7.2 million debt to the federal government. Not paying withholding taxes for employees is particularly egregious because it was not Lankford’s money. The money belonged to the employees and was withheld from their paychecks to pay their taxes to the federal government. What the federal government is alleging in this case is that Lankford withheld the money from the employees, but did not pay that money to the federal government. Unlike Guilford County, Greensboro has no extension of the contract with Lankford on the table, but Greensboro staff is meeting with Lankford this week to hear its side of the story. The whole affair came to light because of a question City Councilmember Tony Wilkins asked
City Attorney Tom Carruthers. Wilkins saw in the Triad Business Journal that Lankford was listed as having a state tax lien filed against it for $32,000. Wilkins asked if the city did not have some provision in their contracts that those contracting with the city have to stay current on their taxes. The subsequent investigation of this question led to the discovery that the $32,000 in unpaid state taxes was the least of Lankford’s tax troubles and that Lankford owed federal taxes going back to 2005 up to 2015, that total $7.2 million. Wilkins has a knack for asking simple questions that lead to much larger issues. It was only after Wilkins asked to see a copy of the contract the city had with the International Civil Rights Center & Museum that it was discovered the city had paid the museum without benefit of a signed contract.
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RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
Council Into Speed Meeting by John Hammer
The Greensboro City Council continued in its series of lightening meetings on Tuesday, March 1, with a meeting that began at 5:30 p.m. and adjourned at 7:05. It appears that in order to lengthen the meetings the City Council is using the same approach it uses at its committee meetings, which were on the way to lasting less than 10 minutes until someone came up with the idea of having each department head give a pre-primer report on what the department does. Tuesday night, Mike Kirkman of the Planning Department gave a report on how property is zoned and rezoned. It was a good report and suitable for a middle school civics class, if they still have civics in middle school. But if anyone on the council learned anything from the report, they should not have been voting on rezoning requests. City Councilmember Justin Outling was appointed to the City Council last
June. Every other member of the City Council has served at least one full term and is well into their second. City Councilmember Yvonne Johnson has been on the City Council for all but two years since 1993. Both Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Councilmember Mike Barber are retreads. They both served on the City Council, took a break and came back. It’s hard to imagine that anyone on the council benefitted from the presentation, which had been previously given at the Infrastructure Committee meeting on Feb. 9, so four members of the City Council had already heard it all once before. There was one question asked about the report. City Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter asked if it could be put on the city’s website. Kirkman said they would put it up. So now the City Council, which has rezoned numerous properties in the past two years, knows what it is doing when it votes for a rezoning. If more people on the City Council had jobs, this would have been presented to the
City Council as a report they could read if they felt the need. In other business, the council used its new-found knowledge about rezoning to vote 9 to 0 to rezone 11.8 acres at the intersection of Muirs Chapel Road and Hardindale Drive from Residential Single Family (R3) to Conditional District Residential Multifamily (CD-RM-12) to allow up to 100 townhomes to be built. Although two people said they wanted to speak against the rezoning, neither one did. One speaker said she had a lot of questions but that after meeting with the developer she was “not happy but more at ease” with the development. The other speaker talked about a FedEx truck hitting her house and said it was a dangerous road with a lot of accidents. After meeting with several neighborhood groups, Brad Deaton, the developer, said he reduced the number of units from 142 to 100 and increased the vegetative buffers
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between the proposed development and the single-family homes. So the City Council held another meeting in which everything passed 9 to 0 and there was very little discussion about any item. At 4:30 p.m., before the meeting, the City Council went into closed session to discuss lawsuits against the city that are still pending from retired Greensboro Police Sgt. Tom Fox and former Chief David Wray. These are two of the last of a spate of lawsuits against the city as a result of Wray being forced to resign in January 2006. Although at the time the city said that serious criminal charges would likely be brought against Wray and other members of the command staff, the only charges that were brought were against police officer Scott Sanders for improperly accessing a government computer and Fox. Sanders was found not guilty and the charges against Fox were dismissed. No action was taken as a result of the closed session.
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Rhino Schmoozefest at Natty Greene’s
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Greensboro State Rep. Blust Announces Run For Congress
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by John Hammer North Carolina District 62 because they don’t have to give up state Rep. John Blust officially their current seat to run, and the short announced he is running for time frame and lack of a runoff election the new 13th Congressional means that it shouldn’t be as expensive District – if the courts uphold as most congressional races. The lack the districts that were redrawn of a runoff election also means that in a crowded field it will be by the legislature possible for a candidate last month after a to win with 10 percent or three-judge panel 15 percent of the vote. ruled the 1st and Because it is considered 12th districts a safe Republican drawn in 2011 district, it is expected unconstitutional. that the Republican Blust made the nominee will win in announcement at Guilford November. However, County Republican this is shaping up to be Headquarters on such a bizarre election West Market Street year, with the political Wednesday, March 2 at pundits so wrong about 1 p.m. before a crowd of so many candidates, about 50. anything might happen. Blust is the second Blust, an attorney from state legislator to officially Greensboro, is in his announce his intention John Blust eighth term in the state to run. State Sen. Andrew House and he served Brock from Mocksville in one term in the state Senate. He voiced Davie County announced he planned some what have become standard to run last week. But it won’t remain a two-man race Republican themes saying, “Right now for long. It is expected to become a we stand as the first generation in the crowded field. Projections are that 10 history of this country that is handing off an America that is worse off than or 15 candidates may file. The filing period is from March 16, the America we inherited from the the day after the primary for every previous generation.” Blust talked about, when he was other race, to March 25; and the growing up in Greensboro, people congressional primary is scheduled didn’t even lock their doors and for June 7. All of that is subject to got a big laugh when he spotted approval from the federal court. Bonnie Waynick in the audience and It is a tempting race for politicians
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confessed that as a child he had gone in her house when she wasn’t home and stolen a cookie. He said, “People are looking at the politicians they have sent to Washington and see they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.” Blust talked about how he stands on principle in the legislature and said, “I have on many occasions not gone along with party leadership.” He said if he gets elected to Congress he will inform the leadership that he won’t be a bomb-thrower but that he wouldn’t go along if he thought they were wrong. He added, “My experience in the legislature will allow me to get a head start on doing things in Congress.” However, when asked how many of the bills that he sponsored were passed in the last legislative session,
Blust said, “I don’t think I passed any this year.” According to state House records, not a single bill where Blust was a primary sponsor passed. He did note that his biggest bill, the taxpayer bill of rights, did pass the Senate. But it did not pass the House, where Blust is a member. Blust said that much of his time last session was taken up with his work as chairman of the Judiciary II committee, and he gave the example of an exotic animal bill that had taken hours of his time. Blust said that in the legislature he concentrated on changing the process to make it more fair and that he believed the process in Washington needed to be changed also. When asked if he had been able to change the process (continued on page 15)
12 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
No Humans or Dogs Happy with Current Susie’s Fund Debate by Scott D. Yost The confusion, consternation and controversy over $265,000, which is supposed to benefit animals at the Guilford County Animal Shelter and help pay for a new shelter, just keeps growing and growing. According to the NC attorney general’s office, the United Animal Coalition (UAC) failed to give the attorney general 30 days notice, as required by law, before transferring the money in the two funds to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of the Triad. The attorney general’s office has now frozen those funds until it completes its investigation. The transfer of the two funds from the UAC to the SPCA is also causing concern among Guilford County
commissioners who argue that Guilford County is the rightful recipient of that money. Animal welfare advocates are also watching closely and pointing out that, as long as the dispute over the funds is up in the air, the money is not being used to help the animals it was intended to aid. The UAC ran Guilford County’s Animal Shelter for nearly two decades under a contract with the county, and the UAC, in that capacity, had been collecting money for Susie’s Fund – set up to pay medical costs for animals at the shelter – as well as an Animal Shelter building fund – established to help pay for the construction of a new county shelter. Both of those funds were controlled by the UAC, which recently filed dissolution papers with the state after a huge scandal last
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August. The UAC surprised virtually everyone when it elected not to hand those funds to Guilford County so the county could use them for their intended purposes. The attorney general’s office sent a letter to the SPCA ordering that organization not to spend any of the $265,000 that the UAC had handed over to the group. The letter, received on Monday, Feb. 22, followed a phone call from the attorney general’s office to the SPCA. That letter informed the organization and the UAC that the attorney general’s office was looking into the matter and would make a determination as to who should receive the money. After the SPCA sent out a press release stating that the UAC had transferred the funds to the SPCA, the transaction was reported in area newspapers and on local television. Noelle Talley, public information officer for the attorney general’s office, when asked how her office first became aware of the transfer, responded in an email, “News of the asset transfer was reported in the News & Record.” Guilford County Attorney Mark Payne said he was unaware of any contact between the attorney general’s office and Guilford County on the matter. Some animal welfare advocates told the Rhino Times last week that they believed that either Guilford County, or someone with a bone to pick with the SPCA, had notified the attorney general. It’s possible that someone, for whatever reason, notified the attorney general’s office and raised flags about the mysterious transfer of funds that was never cleared by the attorney general’s office as is required. Regardless, at some point the attorney general’s office then read a new account of the transfer, looked into the matter, froze the funds and began investigating. Talley said that the asset transfer process from nonprofits is governed by NC General Statutes 55A-12-02. The passage regarding the notification of a transfer states: “A charitable or religious corporation shall give written notice to the Attorney General 30 days before it sells, leases, exchanges, or otherwise disposes of all, or a majority
of, its property if the transaction is not in the usual and regular course of its activities unless the Attorney General has given the corporation a written waiver of this subsection. This notice shall include all the information the Attorney General determines is required for a complete review of the proposed transaction. The Attorney General may require an additional 30-day period to review the proposed transaction by providing written notice to the charitable or religious corporation prior to the expiration of the initial notice period. During this 30-day period, the transaction may not be finalized.” Talley wrote, “Our office did not receive a letter ahead of time.” She also stated in an email, “Under state law, our office is charged with reviewing transfers of assets from nonprofits and that is our role in this matter. Our goal in such reviews is to make sure funds donated will [be] used for their intended purpose.” After word of the attorney general’s action was known to the parties involved, there was a meeting between SPCA founder and President Brenda Overman, Guilford County Manager Marty Lawing, Deputy County Manager Clarence Grier and Robert Young, an attorney with Carruthers & Roth who is representing the UAC. Payne, who represents the county, was not at the meeting. Payne said this week he isn’t certain how that situation arose, but he said he was not asked to participate in the meeting and he believes county officials may not have been aware that Young, the UAC’s attorney, would be present. What is known is that Guilford County commissioners and county administrators were stunned and displeased to say the least when they found out during a break at the Board of Commissioners retreat in early February that the UAC was giving the money to the SPCA rather than the county. At that time, Grier said it made sense for Guilford County to handle the two funds since the building fund was for the construction of a new county shelter, and Susie’s Fund was set up to help pay for the medical care (continued on next page)
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
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(continued from previous page) of animals at the shelter. This week, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Jeff Phillips said the transfer definitely didn’t sit well with him or the rest of the board. He said that, like his fellow commissioners and county staff, he was “surprised and disappointed” with the UAC’s out-of-the-blue decision to give the money to the SPCA. Phillips also said that, given the opaque nature of the UAC’s dealings with the commissioners and other Guilford County officials over the past year, perhaps the secrecy around the transfer should not have been a surprise to anyone. “I’m not sure what their motivations were, but that kind of attitude is pretty much par for the course,” he said. “The UAC bypassed the county without any discussion and it’s another indication of the poor attitude that, frankly, led to the poor management, and that, in particular, led to the poor care of our animals.” Phillips added, “At this point, what is done is done,” and he said that everyone should now be focused on
seeing that the money is used as it was intended when contributed by donors. The scandal and the transfer has already cost the county. Before the dispensation of the funds to the SPCA, the building fund contained about $100,000. However, the amount the UAC handed over to SPCA was $31,102 and some sources said that some large donors took their money back after the scandal broke. The UAC gave a check to the SPCA for Susie’s Fund in the amount of $233,613. It is not clear if any donors to that fund got their money back. The SPCA has taken some heat from groups who thought someone else should have gotten the money, but Overman said she was willing for the SPCA to take on the responsibility because they wanted the money to be used for its intended purposes. SPCA officials have pointed out that they will keep the funds separate. In the wake of the attorney general’s letter, of course, none of the money will be used until the attorney general’s office rules on the matter. In a letter dated Tuesday, Feb. 16,
and received by the SPCA on Monday, Feb. 22, NC Special Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Harrod informed SPCA and Young that the attorney general was looking into the matter. Overman said her organization had received a phone call about a week before that and the call informed her of what the letter said: That the attorney general’s office was reviewing the transfer of the money and that none of the funds were to be used or moved until further notice by the attorney general’s office. The letter from Harrod also states, “I have sent Mr. Young an email outlining additional information we need in order to complete our review.” Meanwhile, when it comes to the SPCA board, some board members knew of the transfer ahead of time but others did not – a fact that didn’t sit well with at least one board member. Overman said the board’s executive committee knew about the acceptance of the funds before it took place and that the committee had the power to accept the money. She also said that the vote to take the money
was unanimous though two board members were not present. One board member had objected very strongly to the move, saying that the entire SPCA board would be held responsible for the action even though some board members were in the dark about the transfer until it had already taken place and they were therefore not able to give their input. The board member expressed concern that the SPCA had accepted the funds before discussing the ramifications or establishing guidelines as to exactly how the money would be spent. The money is meant for the medical care of animals at the shelter but within that framework there are details to be worked out. In the meantime, the attorney general’s office is conducting its investigation and Guilford County officials are exploring options available to the county. The good thing is that, with as much disagreement and bickering as there is over the fund, all parties involved seem intent on the money ultimately being used for the purpose it was raised.
14 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
Interest Rate Drop Means $9M Bump in County Coffers by Scott D. Yost
It’s not often you get a chance at free money, but, when you do, you should take it – especially when it’s $9 million in free money. That’s exactly what Guilford County government intends to do on Wednesday, April 6, when the county plans to conduct a financial deal with little downside and risk – but one that will generate $9 million the county otherwise wouldn’t have. On Thursday, March 3, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to authorize county finance staff to refinance $100,550,000 in bonds that Guilford County issued in 2009 and 2010. The county intends to issue $93,780,000 in new bonds at a lower interest rate that should mean a savings of $9 million. The county has done something similar in the past –
and in one instance saved the county $2 million – but this is the biggest savings ever on a refinancing. The strategy is very similar to that used by homeowners when interest rates fall and they refinance their homes – but in this case there are a lot more moving parts because the county’s bonds have call features, an escrow account will be used, the quantity of money involved is large and the preparation of the complex financial statements needed is time consuming. Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Jeff Phillips, who is a financial advisor, said this move is basically a no-brainer. “It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “This is a net positive – really there’s no reason why we wouldn’t do this.” There is staff time involved and
some transaction costs but they are minor compared to the benefits. The Guilford County Finance Department estimates the transaction will a cost about $182,000, with $103,000 being underwriting fees. Guilford County Finance Director Reid Baker said that, even in light of the tremendous savings, it makes sense for the county from all angles – though he added that financial markets are constantly shifting so things can change between now and the first week in April when the county hopes to pull the trigger. Both Baker and Phillips pointed out that the $9 million number is an estimate. “That’s the projection,” Phillips said, adding it should be close to $9 million assuming the county’s interest rate stays the same.
Phillips pointed out that the changing markets could work to the county’s benefit or “to our detriment” – however, as it is now, it appears as though the refinancing of the more than $100 million in bonds will bring a windfall. “That’s something we’ll be watching closely on April 6,” Phillips said. Guilford County Cash and Debt Manager Clay Hicks said the county usually makes this type of move in conjunction with a new bond offering. However, the county needed to act on this beneficial situation now, and in this case it wasn’t wise to wait for a new bond offering. “Right now we’re in a favorable interest rate environment,” Hicks said. “We have to strike while the iron is hot.” (continued on next page)
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blust (continued from page 11) in the legislature, which he had spent a good bit of time complaining about, he said that they had made progress but in his opinion the leadership still wielded too much power. North Carolina District 59 state Rep. Jon Hardister from Greensboro has said that he intends to run but he has not made an official announcement. Guilford County Commissioner Hank Henning from High Point has also expressed interest, as has High Point Mayor Bill Bencini and former state Rep. Laura Wiley from High Point. District 79 State Rep. Julia Howard from Mocksville is reportedly considering a run for the seat, as
is Iredell County Register of Deeds Matthew McCall. George Rouco, a Mooresville attorney who was running in the 9th Congressional District, is now in the 13th and has been mentioned as a possible candidate. Former Winston-Salem City Councilmember Vernon Robinson doesn’t live in the district but has also expressed interest in running. Vanessa Carroll, the wife of Roy Carroll, the owner of this newspaper, is reportedly considering running for the seat. And those are just a few of the names floating around.
bump (continued from previous page) He said that, due to the call features on the county’s previously issued bonds, this move involved putting money in an escrow account. The money for the bonds to be refinanced was mostly used to pay for school construction. Guilford County has a AAA rating across the board with all three major bond rating agencies, just as it did when the bonds were issued six and seven years ago.
As part of the process, Local Government Finance Act regulations require that the Board of Commissioners pass a resolution approving the move. Hicks said that he, Baker and other county finance staff had been burning the midnight oil to prepare to pull off the large bond exchange. “The official statement we put together is a lot of work,” Hicks said. “I’ll fax you over a copy of my time sheet for the last couple of weeks.”
RHINOSHORTS
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newspaper, the N&R reported that Carroll bought the land at the corner of Bellemeade and Eugene Street – directly across Bellemeade from NewBridge Bank Park – from the City of Greensboro. That 1.5-acre lot was owned by Guilford County and, after much negotiation, was sold by Guilford County to Carroll. The Ku Klux Klan is making news again by throwing its fliers in people’s yards. The Rhinoceros Times is the only newspaper in the country that has a permanent court injunction prohibiting the KKK from using The Rhinoceros
Times to distribute its vile literature. In 2009, The Rhinoceros Times was awarded $25,000 in punitive damages and the injunction was put in place following a three-year legal battle with the KKK. Since The Rhinoceros Times was a free newspaper, it was convenient for members of the KKK to pick up a bunch of copies, place their fliers inside and throw them out on people’s lawns. We sued because some people assumed that we had inserted the hateful propaganda in the paper and it was damaging our reputation. In 2006, we reached a settlement with the Knights of the KKK, where they
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into the details but that he did not wish to before that point. The Guilford County Security Department has a staff of about 15, not enough to handle all the needs of the county, so for about two decades the county has contracted with Lankford to fill in. The county’s current contract budgets $670,000 to pay Lankford for the fiscal year. Among many other services, Lankford officers operate the metal detectors at the county’s two courthouses. While there might be a question now on which company should provide the armed officers at the two county buildings, there is a large deal of agreement among the commissioners that more security is needed at the Maple Street and Russell Avenue buildings. In the past, there have been unarmed security officers at the two locations, but they had no sidearms or powers of arrest. However, the county is now looking to add what are essentially private police officers in response to previous security issues as well as concerns that arose from
the December 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, that left 14 dead. That incident took place at a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training session and holiday party, and the shooting was carried out by a county health inspector. Even before that incident, Guilford County was considering placing some guards with guns in areas where county employees often have to deal with disgruntled clients who are in many cases down on their luck. Guilford County Security Director Jeff Fowler stated this week in an email that the “company police” or “special police” that would be used at the two locations have more power than the typical guards one might see in county buildings. “The agenda item describes Company Police, not armed guards,” Fowler stated. “Company, or Special police have the same authority to arrest on the property as the local police do. This sets them apart from armed security officers, who can only detain in certain situations.”
Fowler added that the move has been a long time coming. “We have been discussing security issues at the Maple and Russell Street locations for some time, even before the incident in San Bernardino,” he wrote. “Looking at the gravity of the issues being handled by staff and the number of clients being served at those locations, it should be concluded that having a higher level of security is the right thing to do. The buildings are also located some distance from the security control centers.” It appears as if both Democratic and Republican commissioners consider the move a needed one, and the increase in security is being sought by the board with more security enhancements anticipated for other buildings owned and leased by Guilford County. Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Jeff Phillips told the Rhino Times several weeks ago that enhanced security in Guilford County buildings would be a priority this year. He added that the board would explore many options, from stationing armed officers in strategic locations to purchasing additional surveillance cameras to more public safety training for county staff and even citizens. The commissioners have also been looking into the possibility of using metal detectors beyond their current use – at the county’s two courthouses and at the Old Guilford County Court House when a county commissioners meeting is held there. Commissioner Ray Trapp said the San Bernardino shooting was a wake-up call for county employees, administrators and commissioners everywhere, and he said it’s only “through the grace of God” that Guilford County hasn’t had some major incident at a county facility yet. Trapp said he’s not taking anything away from current county security – which he said does a great job. But he added that two unarmed security officers handling the Maple Street building was probably not enough given the kind of intense emotions at play there – especially in child custody cases. “They literally take kids away from them,” Trapp said of some social services staff in these two locations. “I know the ladies at Maple Street [who provide security], and they do a great job, but there may be extreme situations where they will not be able to address the threat.” Trapp said he was surprised when he began looking at the busy Maple Street building and realized there were no armed security personnel there. In some cases, county security may even need to break up fights between county employees. One incident the
county has kept under wraps was a big altercation between two social services employees who got into a fight over the best way to hang Christmas lights for a party at Maple Street. That’s an example of how workplace violence can arise at any point in time – even among county employees. Guilford County Health Director Merle Green, whose office is in the Maple Street building, said she believes the added security is a very positive move. “The public environment is not getting any safer,” Green said. “We definitely have our share of incidents. Many people we serve have life issues anyway, and that sometimes manifests itself. Overall, they are well behaved, but it does happen at times.” Green said that, as the county’s health director, she has a job that, in the daily course of business, requires being ready for incidents and threats. She said that’s true for her staff as well. “We talk about preparedness all the time, whether it’s a tornado or a violent situation,” Green said. Lankford Protective Services already provides some security workers for Guilford County. The commissioners’ agenda for the March 3 meeting, which was drawn up last week before the commissioners were aware of the giant outstanding tax debt of the company, calls for the county to pay $124,254 for the addition of “Company Police services” at the two locations. The contract would be in effect for 15 months, beginning April 1 and running through the next budget year, which starts July 1. If the commissioners decide against approving the contract in light of the liens, they would no doubt seek other ways to provide the added security since they seem to see it as a necessity. Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said that there had not been a request for his office to look into the possibility of using sheriff’s deputies to provide armed security at the two locations. In Guilford County, sheriff’s deputies are used in the schools for security and protection. “We did not discuss it and I’m sure cost is the reason,” Barnes said. “Deputies have more training and more authority and I believe the county felt it was more budget friendly to go with the security officer which will be able to give the presence they need.” Fowler said that, like police officers and sheriff’s deputies, the special police Lankford provides all go through basic law enforcement training. Like Barnes, Fowler said it would be more costly to use sheriff’s deputies to guard the buildings. Additional security measures could (continued on page 18)
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
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UNCLE ORSON Reviews
Uncle Orson Reviews Everything
Odd Titles, Donald Drumpf by Orson Scott Card Even in an election year, we shouldn’t have to rely on politicians to provide us with all the absurdity required to meet our entertainment needs. Until a librarian friend provided me with a link, I had never heard of the Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year. Of course, oddness is in the eye
of the beholder, so instead of a panel of judges who somehow became “experts” in oddness, the finalists are judged by the public at this website: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ WZMYH2G. You’ll notice that the site is British, and it’s quite possible that only British book titles are eligible for the honor. If that’s the case, then somebody needs
to come up with something similar for American book titles, because the nation that produced Donald Drumpf can’t take a back seat to anyone when it comes to amusing oddities. I always take voting very seriously – even when I’m voting on something intended to be humorous. Thus I have to come up with standards by which to judge prizeworthiness. I reject book titles that are trying to be odd, like Transvestite Vampire Biker Nuns from Outer Space: A Consideration of Cult Film. When you try to exploit weirdness, then you shouldn’t get a prize for it. And what about books that I would very much like to read? Are their titles “odd,” or are they perfectly normal titles about a surprising subject matter? I would like to read Soviet Bus Stops, because I’ve seen some photographs, and I was surprised at how much creativity went into bus stop design during the creativitysuppressing Communist era. Likewise, it may not give you much
fuel for polite dinner conversation, but Reading from Behind: A Cultural History of the Anus sounds fascinating, because different cultures have different attitudes toward the apparatus of defecation. The more scholarly and the less “popular” the book, the more useful it will be. (Judging from movies and TV shows, our culture is apparently going through a revolting era in which it is supposedly “normal” for “all men” to wish sexual congress via that aperture. In case you’re wondering why you have never had the slightest desire to do such a thing, there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s the other people who have gone off the deep end.) In this context, Reading from Behind isn’t odd, it’s merely clever. Too Naked for the Nazis is an account of a burlesque troupe trying to make an honest living under Hitler’s brutal-yet-prudish regime. It’s a good title, genuinely clever – and yet odd enough to be a contender. (continued on page 18)
18 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
uncle orson (continued from page 17)
Behind the Binoculars: Interviews with Acclaimed Birdwatchers isn’t so much odd as accurate in its promise that unless you are seriously dedicated to birdwatching, this book is going to be so extremely boring that it should be read aloud to interned terrorists to break their will. (And please, no hate mail on this one: I recognize that if you are seriously dedicated to birdwatching, every page of this book may be golden, dripping with the wisdom and experience of those who have seen the rarest of birds, and therefore have a reason to be alive.) Inadvertent double entendres are definitely in contention for an oddity prize. For instance, take the perfectly plain and descriptive title Paper Folding with Children. It promises to teach you how to guide children in a good rainy-day activity. But it also suggests that perhaps the art is to fold paper and children together, which might be amusing but is also quite possibly illegal, depending on how tight you make your creases. My favorite, though – the one that got my vote – is Reading the Liver:
Papyrological Texts on Ancient Greek Extispicy. The art of reading omens and auspices in the entrails of animals played a serious role in history, and I think it would be fascinating to know, not simply that extispicy (or haruspicy, which I had thought was the more common term) took place, but what exactly you looked for in the animal organs. I mean, the fact that one man’s haggis or sausage casing or giblet is another man’s revelation from God should give us pause, and as a fiction writer who may someday create a character who has to read omens in entrails, I really should learn about the process. Not only that, this title promises that there are other volumes in the series. This book specializes in divine information that can be discerned from close examination of the liver; are there not other books possible, focusing on the pancreas, the spleen, the intestines large and small, or the various glands and bladders? Are both kidneys considered in the same volume, or are there separate books on rectorenal and versorenal (or, if you prefer, dextrenal and
The New York Times
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sinistrenal) omen reading? Best of all, this title is absolutely scholarly and has no humorous intent. What makes it so wonderfully odd, in my opinion, is the purity of its specialization. It’s about reading the liver, and no other organ; it treats only Greek practices, and no other culture’s; and its source material is writings on papyrus, and no other medium. And if anyone is still doing extispicy in Greece, they are going to be ignored; modern Greek extispicy is clearly excluded from this book. Before you vote, you may want to read more about the contest at this site: http://www.thebookseller. com/news/diagram-shortlistrevealed-323345. Though it’s not in contention for the prize, let me also point out one of my
favorite children’s book titles ever: The Bunny Burrow Buyer’s Book: A Tale of Rabbit Real Estate. The book, by popular illustrator Steve Light, uses cutouts and gatefolds to show how moving to a new burrow will greatly improve life for a rapidly growing family of bunnies. For adults, the book is both a parody of and a tribute to homeremodeling and home-buying shows like Love It or List It. And the artist got to imagine extravagant variations in rabbit-burrow architecture and interior decoration. I only regret that because of housing discrimination, I am not personally acquainted with any bunnies to whom I might give a copy of this eminently useful book.
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liens (continued from page 16) be coming soon. Guilford County Commissioner Alan Branson said he’d liked to see armed officers in more places that he considers unprotected right now. He said he didn’t want to specifically identify where those spots were, but he added that there were clearly county buildings where there’s a lot of public access and little security. Several years ago, before a shuffling of county services, Guilford County’s human services offices were in the same 201 S. Greene St. building as the court’s probation services – so human services employees going in and out of the building would often feel very uneasy about the shady characters that were constantly milling around, riding the elevator with them or asking them for money or to borrow a phone. Phillips said Guilford County is looking at several locations where it might make sense to add armed officers with powers of arrest. He said the Maple Street and Russell Avenue buildings are the places where it makes the most sense to start. He said that was because of “the volume of clients they see – at times, because of very challenging personal circumstances they are dealing with.” The chairman said the move was meant to make it safer both for citizens accessing the services and for staff who work in the buildings. He said that, even if the officers never have to act, just the visibility of armed officers is a calming presence.
“I think that likely minimizes the risk,” Phillips said. At their 2016 retreat in early February, the commissioners held a closed session at which they discussed ways to enhance security on property owned and leased by the county, and they considered using more metal detectors at county buildings. Trapp said there were a lot of negatives to putting up the detectors. “The logistics of using metal detectors at those buildings are a problem,” he said. Trapp said that on some mornings there are 200 people waiting to get into the Maple Street building when the doors open, and it’s already an effort to move that line along. He added that it would be a lot worse if each of those clients had to go through metal detectors and all that that process entails. He said it would slow that morning entrance ritual to a crawl. “That would probably be more likely to cause an incident than prevent it,” Trapp said. Even when the metal detectors are in use at commissioners meetings, only some people are checked. County employees just show their ID badges and pass right by security with no check at all, and many tightly wound county employees who feel underpaid and overworked are probably much more likely to snap during a meeting than the members of the general public or the reporters who are checked very thoroughly each time they arrive at a meeting.
RHINO
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March 3, 2016
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BRICKS 4 KIDZ
Nussbaum Center • 1451 S. Elm-Eugene St.
Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Party
Celebrate Dr. Seuss at a free open house on Sunday, March 6 from 2 to 5 p.m. Families are invited to spend an afternoon together playing games and building with bricks. There will be prizes, including prizes for those dressed as Dr. Seuss characters. For more information, call (336) 285.9893 or visit www.bricks4kidz.com/piedmontnc.
CITY ARTS DRAMA CENTER
Greensboro Cultural Center • 200 N. Davie St.
Auditions for Short Tales
Auditions will be held for City Arts Drama’s Short Tales. Children in fourth to ninth grade are encouraged to try out on March 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. and March 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. Performances will be April 9 and 10. Auditions are open to anyone regardless of experience. Everyone is invited to participate in some aspect of WKH SURGXFWLRQ $XGLWLRQV DUH KHOG LQ WKH +\HUV 7KHDWUH RQ WKH ¿UVW level. Call (336) 373-2026 for more information about auditioning or being part of our orchestra or behind-the-scenes crew.
COMMUNITY THEATRE OF GREENSBORO Odell Auditorium • GSO College • 815 W. Market St.
Musical Narnia
The Drama Center presents Narnia, a musical version of C.S. Lewis’ classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 13 in the Odell Auditorium at Greensboro College, 815 W. Market St. All actors are local children in grades 4 through 9. Tickets are $8. For more information, visit www. thedramacenter.com or call (336) 335-6426. Shows are Friday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 12 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sunday, March 13 at 2 p.m.
CITY ARTS DRAMA CENTER
Greensboro Cultural Center • 200 N. Davie St.
Auditions for Much Ado About Nothing
The Drama Center Children’s Theatre is holding auditions for a youth version of William Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing, Friday, March 18 from 5 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 19 from 1 to 3 p.m.. Auditions are open to those ages 8 to 17. There will be cold readings from the script and other Shakespeare texts. Performances are April 28 through April 30 at the Tanger Bicentenniel Gardens. For more information, visit www.thedramacenter.com or contact the Drama Center at 336335-6426.
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REAL ESTATE
Get Your Yard And Garden Ready For Spring BY SANDY GROOVER With crocus and daffodils beginning to pop up, you know spring is nearly here. Now is the time to get your yard and garden ready for the planting season. In the yard, one of the first things to do is get rid of the debris that has collected over the winter. With the recent winds, branches litter our yards as well as dead leaves, pine needles and thatch. Raking the lawn, especially removing the thatch (dead grass roots and other fine debris), will allow the new spring growth to breathe. Some thatch is actually beneficial, as it protects emerging seedlings and keeps moisture close to the soil. If it builds up to a half an inch or more, however, it’s time to clear it out. If you didn’t do so in the fall, now is the time to aerate your lawn. Aerators look like big rotary tillers and work by using steel tubes to take plugs of soil out of the ground. This allows fertilizer, oxygen and water to easily reach the root system. Aerators can be rented at most home-improvement stores and, depending upon the size of your yard, the whole operation shouldn’t take longer than it does for you to mow. If you use a lawn service, you can have them aerate for you. As the grass begins to grow in the spring, so do weeds. To stop weed growth, especially crabgrass, consider applying a pre-emergent lawn herbicide now. A pre-emergence herbicide, once watered in, forms a barrier on top of the soil that keeps weeds and crabgrass from sprouting. Be sure to aerate before putting the herbicide down. If you aerate after you put down the chemical, you’ll break the barrier. A word of caution: If you’re planning to sow grass seed this spring, do not use a pre-emergent herbicide. It will not only prevent weeds and crabgrass
from growing, it will keep the new grass from sprouting as well. There seems to be a question as to when is the right time to fertilize your lawn in the spring. Many fertilizer companies and lawn care services advocate fertilizing in early spring, but agronomists and turf specialists say it’s better to wait until the late spring, just before the summer heat begins. Waiting until the lawn naturally revives from its winter dormancy allows it to use the stored carbohydrates and the fertilizer you put down in the fall. If you didn’t fertilize in fall, then early spring fertilizing may be more beneficial. Along with ground litter, don’t forget to clean out old mulch around shrubs and trees and remove plants in flowerbeds that are left from the previous season. Check hedges and shrubbery for winter damage and trim off any broken branches. Getting your flower garden ready for spring planting is much the same as your yard – cleaning up winter debris and removing any dead annual plants that are still in the garden. If you didn’t prune perennials, do so now. When you see new growth at the base of the plants, you can remove the winter mulch and cut them down to ground level. Add what you clean up to your compost pile and don’t forget to turn it. Compost is great for gardens. It’s nature’s own fertilizer. It can actually improve soil structure, attract beneficial insects such as earthworms and, when used in the garden, it slowly releases its nutrients throughout the growing season. Compost is ready to use when it looks like rich soil – dark and crumbly with an earthy smell. A little research on the internet can explain the basic approaches to composting. You might want to use that rich compost you’ve accumulated on your (continued on next page)
REAL ESTATE
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
(continued from previous page) vegetable garden beds. A one to two inch layer is ideal. The compost needs to be worked into your garden plot once the soil is dry enough to crumble when your grab a handful. Once it’s worked in, rake the beds into planting mounds and you’re all set for early spring vegetables like lettuce, peas and spinach. Of course, in order to do the work in your yard or garden, you need tools
that are in good condition. It may be time to clean the blades of your shovels, spades and hoes. Check handles for cracks and splits and replace them if necessary. Spraying the blades with a light coat of oil can prevent rust. Mower blades and pruning shears should be sharpened and oiled. Sharpening stones are available at most hardware stores. Don’t forget to inspect cutting guards on equipment like hedge trimmers,
edgers and chain saws to be sure they are aligned correctly. Retighten screws and nuts and replace old trimmer lines in weed whackers. Now is also the time to repair any winter damage to walkways, driveways, garden edging and patios. You can also check your lawn furniture to see if any repairs and cleaning are needed. Once these chores are done, you’ll be in good shape for spring and summer.
Unfortunately, when warm weather gets here so do the mosquitoes. To help keep them at bay use plants. There are actually plants that mosquitoes absolutely hate. You can plant these in your garden or in containers on your deck or patio, such as lemon thyme, lavender, lemon balm, basil, lemongrass, catnip, rosemary, garlic or marigolds. Not only will they keep mosquitoes away, but they’ll beautify your surroundings.
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The Sound of the
beep
WHAT HAVEN’T WHAT HAVEN’T YOU HEARD? YOU HEARD? GENIUS™ TECHNOLOGY BY
What follows has been transcribed from the answering machine on our comment line. We edit out what is required by the laws of the state, of good taste and of good sense. The limit on phone calls is one minute and each caller may make up to two calls per week. If you have something to say, call our comment line at 763-0479 and start talking at The Sound of the Beep. Have you ever noticed that all liberals are all closet fascists? This morning NPR, national progressive radio, wanted to investigate the case of Apple trying to protect its customers’ conversations. And who did they interview? No less than Cyrus Vance Jr., who is the DA in New York who is bringing the action against Apple. So much for balanced coverage. Did NPR follow this up with an interview with an Apple representative? Or perhaps even the ACLU, which is the notorious leftwing liberal organization to counterbalance Cyrus Vance’s propaganda. Oh, no. NPR, as always, is on the side of the state, much the same way as the East Germany’s Stasi secret police were, or, indeed, Big Brother. Because, once again, it’s just another example of liberals being statists and, in effect, closet fascists. Just sign me off as An Independent Thinker.
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%%% Good morning, Beep. I don’t see how the American public can go into this voting with their eyes wide shut about Hillary Clinton. It is obvious that she has broken the law. It’s just amazing that someone would vote for her. Her or her husband. It’s a situation that the people really need to look at and think very hard about – who to put in that office.
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%%% You know, I thought the original Black Panther group was dissolved. I know in North Carolina for a fact, because I know a couple of people who are members of it. There is a Black Panther group. They wear black berets, but they’re white and black mixed because they have nothing to do with black power or white power or anything like that. They’re the Charlotte Panther’s football team support group. And their name is the Black Panthers. You know, that’s the Charlotte Panther logo, the Black Panthers. And they do wear a black beret, because the Black Panther is, you know, is black. But it has nothing to do with anything racial stuff. I just think it’s kind of funny. It looks like the Charlotte Panthers could turn around and sue them, anyone who started a new Black Panther group for the very fact that now the Charlotte Panthers have the right to that name and have an actual group of people called the Black Panthers …
%%% So, the party of the smart people in 2008 actually went into the booth and pulled the lever for someone I respect very much, John McCain. But someone I have not much respect for is the mouthiness of Sarah Palin. So, you’re telling me you Republicans are the smart party when they pulled the lever for Sarah Palin as vice president? Think again.
%%% Hey, there’s a program called Gift of Warmth. It’s about people donating money so they can get power paid for people who can’t afford it. The money, I think, is given to the Salvation Army. News 2 has been advertising like crazy all week about donating to the program. But the fans, they don’t tell you how to enroll in the Gift of Warmth. If you are a low-income home, and you are having problems paying your power bills, it doesn’t explain how to apply to get the currency. Because I guess you have to go down to the Salvation Army and just ask for it. I don’t know.
(continued on page 26)
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24 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com YOST Column
Yost Column
2016 Makes As Much Sense To Yost As 2001 by Scott D. Yost It’s only the beginning of March 2016 and already I’m not sure I like how this year is going. In fact, I can say with a great deal of certainty that I absolutely do not like one bit where the year 2016 is heading. The problem, I think, is that the world and history and society may have finally halted their forward advance. People talk about “progress” all the time, but at some point, it seems, we got turned around and somehow began heading backwards. So far, this year, compared to past years, bubble wrap no longer makes a sound when you pop it, the women in Playboy all have clothes on, and the Porsches are switching over to electric motors just like the engines in golf carts. Also already this year, Apple has joined ISIS, and now anytime you go into a Burger King to get a hamburger – they start pushing hot dogs on you. It’s just like nothing makes any sense in 2016. I mean, it’s Burger King and they are offering you hot dogs. It would be like if Yum Yum’s Ice Cream suddenly started selling hot dogs. Listen, the people in line in front of me at Burger King are confused enough as it is without adding anything new for them to worry about. They still haven’t even mastered the existing menu that’s been there for 40 years, so please don’t give them any more to deal with. Their heads might explode while I’m trying to eat. I’m telling you, things have gotten completely crazy, and there is no
way, shape or form that any of this can be called progress. Do you know how many One A Day vitamins you are now supposed to take each day? Two. The dosage on the back of the One A Day vitamins says you are supposed to take two “one a day” vitamins a day. What sense does that make? Who is doing this new math? How are we supposed to keep up? And this is supposed to be progress?
Look, this craziness started a long time ago. When I was growing up you could go into a coffee shop and order a cup of coffee, but now if you go in a coffee shop and ask for a cup of coffee they will look at you like you are out of your mind. Try it sometime if you don’t believe me. They will look
at you like you just walked in and said, “Excuse me, may I paint your French giraffe bright yellow?” And even kids today are confused about all the changes because the language can’t even catch up. They ask all sorts of crazy things like, “Daddy, why do we say ‘hang up’ the phone?” and “Why is MTV called “Music television?” Just tell them it’s all because of progress. It used to be that if you were over at someone else’s house and they weren’t there you could pick up the remote control and turn on their TV and watch something. Now, in 2016, all you can do is blankly stare at the 19 different remotes like you are a pilot with amnesia looking at the control panel of a 747. In 2016 we have Bitcoin, the latest evolution of money. It’s exactly like money only you can’t see it, you can’t spend it anywhere and it might magically disappear at any time. Forcing people to move to the new “efficient” light bulbs is another thing they call progress. For years, the government has been trying to cram their stupid freakish twisty light bulbs down our throats, and it’s now clear that 2016 is the year they finally intend to get the last of us holdouts to do it. For years, they’ve been saying they are going to start arresting people who use the good old regular light bulbs, but I know now they are really getting serious about it this year because it has been harder and harder to get a normal light bulb at Lowe’s and so I better switch in 2016 or else. Everyone says, “Scott, just go ahead and buy the new light bulbs; they are much better, and it is progress. Join us, join us.” The government and the power companies say the new light bulbs are better but only a crazy person would say that. When they say ”better,” which one of the attributes of the new bulbs do they love the most? (A) that they cost 20 times more than the good old light bulbs, (2) that they look like a freakish genetically mutated offspring of a normal light bulb that got with a slinky, (Frankly I feel highly uncomfortable just touching them, much less screwing them in) (3) that, due to their bizarre and ridiculous form factors, they don’t
fit inside half the light covers in your house, (4) that once you turn them on they have to warm up for a while and you can have your light in about 15 minutes – thank you for waiting, (5) that even when they do warm up, the light is not as bright as it was with the old bulbs and it isn’t the right kind of light either, (6) that when the bulb breaks, Emergency Services sends out men in Hazmat suits to evacuate your entire neighborhood and that room of your house has to be quarantined off for the next 12,000 years because of the lethal gas that is floating in the air. Yes, that’s progress for you. Still, I get resistance when I fight “the future.” Duke Energy sends me free light bulbs and I write back and say, “I don’t want your freakish light bulbs,” and the next day Duke Energy is like, “How about today? Do you want them now? Try them, you will like them. Join us, Scott. It is progress.” Now another thing they claim as progress is that, in 2016, everyone can talk to their phone. Here’s a screen shot I took from a recent conversation when I said, “Siri, What’s the score in the UNC Tar Heel football game?” to which the ever helpful Siri replied, “I don’t have the schedule for any games between the Tar Heels and the Tar Heels?” And I’m like, “What, Siri?” What in the world are you talking about?? Are you drunk? It’s a simple question. What’s the score in the UNC Tar Heel game? Why would the Tar Heels be playing themselves? A year ago, I gave Siri a Yostie Award for the dumbest answer of the year when I asked “Siri, how long does turkey keep in the refrigerator?” and Siri said, “Sorry, I don’t see any movies matching ‘keep’ playing in Ankara, Turkey today.” Did I say anything about seeing a movie in Ankara, Turkey? I don’t believe that I did say anything about that or anything about finding a banana stand in Afghanistan. No, I did not, and this certainly isn’t progress. Siri is not progress. What you ask Siri is in no way, shape or form related to what comes out. Do you know what Siri is? I will tell you: Siri is the Talking Barbie from the 1970s where you pull the string and it says something random. That’s exactly what you get with Siri. It is the exact same technology 40 years later.
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Sudoku Solution Solution sudoku_517B
Crossword Solution From last week’s issue
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“Siri, you’re not making any sense!” “Thanks Scott, you’re pretty too. What should I wear to the prom? Let’s have a sleepover!” Listen, Siri is not progress – it is Talking Barbie rewarmed four decades later without the hot body or the string you pull. I’m just glad that Siri is at least still random and innocuous for now. But look for that to change before 2016 now that Apple has changed sides. Coming soon to an iPhone near you … “Siri, What’s the weather?” “Brrrr! It’s 31 degrees in Greensboro, North Carolina – but it is a pleasant balmy 79 degrees at the ISIS Training and Recruitment Center in Syria. Would you like me to book you a flight?” Another “advance” they say is what they have started doing at some fast food chains out west –
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www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO8TIMES
yost I’ll ask, “Siri, what’s the capital of Moldavia?” and Siri is like, “Math class is hard.” “No. Siri. What. Is. The. Capital. Of. Moldavia?” and Siri says, “Do you have a crush on anyone?”
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new technology that will no doubt be coming our way. Now, in some places when people order at a McDonald’s their order doesn’t go straight to the pickup window. Instead, you are talking to someone in a fast food order center in another state and then they put the order into a computer and the information shows up on a display for the McDonald’s you’re at. This is a great idea because there are not enough possible barriers to communication already when I’m speaking from the window of a running car, with someone honking behind me, into a broken 1975 intercom system to the stoned English-as-afourth-language cashier who’s facetiming his girlfriend while taking my order. Yes, McDonald’s wisely sees that what’s needed in that situation is to add into the mix the act of beaming the whole conversation to Reno and back. That is the perfect solution. Is that really an advancement? Is that really progress? You know what would be a real advancement is if the items that I ordered actually showed up in the bag. McDonald’s, why not work on that one for a while before you send up new telecom satellites so I can place an order at a fast food drive-thru? I’m not asking for everything I ordered – but even one or two of the things I ordered showing up in the bag every once in a while would be nice. Now that would be progress.
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B O O L A
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R B O A A B L W I D A Y C A A B R R E D T E S LOVE T O N R S I S A G LOVE L E S T A R O R S I R W A R A N A V G T E L E T E D O
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RHINOSHORTS (continued from page 15`)
agreed not to use our newspaper to distribute their racist propaganda. The Knights of the KKK violated that settlement agreement and we took them back to court where we won a permanent injunction and the $25,000 in punitive damages. The Rhinoceros Times was represented in that lawsuit by Seth Cohen of Smith, James, Rowlett & Cohen. If more newspapers would go to the trouble and expense of suing the KKK, it would be forced to stop this practice. New state sales taxes went into effect on Tuesday, March 1. This is not an increase in the tax rate, which has been reduced by the Republican legislature, but an increase in services for which sales tax has to be paid. The largest change is that sales tax will have to be paid on some services such as car repair. The general rule is that if the service may involve purchasing items then the sales tax will also apply to the service portion of the bill. An oil change for your car is a good example. Before March 1, you paid sales tax on the oil but not on the labor. Now you will have to pay sales tax on the labor portion of the bill as well as the purchase of the oil.
Rhino Times Publisher Roy Carroll and his wife, Vanessa, met with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Wednesday, March 2, in Washington, DC. Sales tax was reduced in 2011 from 7.75 percent to 6.75 percent; personal income tax has been reduced by the Republicans from a top rate of 8 percent to a top rate of 5.5 percent; and corporate
beep (continued from page 23) News 2 did not go into detail about this. And I think they need to. They’re explaining how to donate to the program, but they’re not telling you who’s getting the donations exactly, and how to apply for them.
%%% Everybody needs to vote Donald Trump for president. Because today on the news I heard Al Sharpton is moving out of the country if he wins. So, everybody, go vote Trump.
%%% Yeah, Steely Dan Fan Man. I agree. The Republicans should not have jumped right out and remarked that they were not going to support any of Obama’s nominations for the Supreme Court. But I also agree that I wouldn’t support anybody that he nominated simply because he’s made one bad decision after another for seven solid years. I can’t even think of a good one that he’s made. If there’s
any way to prevent him from making this bad decision, I think that we ought to take that into account. And on another note, Hillary Clinton would be the biggest mistake we make as president. We should avoid her at all costs. And anybody who thinks she would make a good president is completely out of their head.
%%% I was just reading The Beep in the Feb. 18 issue. The person called in about everything being good is due to Obama, and there’s some people who think everything bad is Obama’s fault. I don’t know how Obama made the gas prices go down. I don’t really think that’s the truth. I think the Middle Eastern OPEC people have been producing fuel at the highest rate they can, which has raised the supply level to make the prices go down. Anyway, one thing that if you discredit or just forget about the gas prices thing, I know Obama has made a lot of other things go up. Health
income tax has been reduced from 7 percent to 3 percent. The stated goal of the Republican-led state government is to reduce personal income tax to zero.
insurance has gone through the roof for people who still can’t afford it. And people that don’t have it, they just pay the fine and go on. And I think that is really terrible.
%%% Well, I see where Barack Obama wants to absolutely close Guantanamo Bay. Anybody that the fifth year was their high school year, as far as they got, knows that this government does not mind spending money. Everybody knows that. The thing to do is to build a place in Washington, DC, and put them there. They’d all mix up together and then he could walk by them every day or two and tell them that he got them out and brought them up here where we can look after them better. And maybe give them a food stamp card and some more color TVs. And they’d probably have better reception in Washington. And they can see how this country works. And with any luck at all, sometime or another he might even work them out in the public. Executive order can get all that done, and he knows how to sign one.
%%%
Unless something changes, this country is doomed. Hillary Clinton is a known liar. They’ve caught her in lies. One of them, like all the bullets she dodged when they dropped into Bosnia. They had to run to hide, which they got it on camera. She walked right out like anybody else. And she told the people, about the video, is why the men got killed in Libya, which is all a lie. That’s just part of the lies she’s told. Donald Trump is not going to change his personality at his age. The way he talks about people, belittles them and all, that’s not going to change either. And that’s the man that we’re trying to elect on one end, and Hillary Clinton is on the other end. We don’t have a choice. If they can get Marco Rubio up there, somebody that acts like he’s got some sense. And by the way, Donald Trump even talks about him today wanting to know if he would be able to run to qualify to be a president of the United States. We got no choice. We got to have somebody else running.
(continued on page 30)
ask
C
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
arolyn...
27
Straight Talk
from the Dancing Divorce Attorney
by Carolyn Woodruff
Ask Carolyn… Dear Readers, I’d like to hear from you on depression, as well as money and credit cards problems, and their effects on your relationships.
Dear Carolyn, My wife just lost her mother about six months ago, but she cannot seem to get over it and get on with life. She is not taking care of herself or our children. She seems tired all of the time and cannot seem to concentrate on any task. She is drinking more and I am afraid for her to be driving the children. I am thinking about divorce at this point to protect the children. What do you think is going on here? How will the court look at divorce under my circumstances?
Electronic Graphics/Andrew Berry, 48 Parsons St., Brighton, MA 02135-2739 USA Vox: 617.987.8256, Fax: 619.789.6520 739SCH HOF Awesomest Rhino10x6-125 February 25, 2016 2:43 PM Publication: Bleed: Trim: Live: Rhino Times 00" x 00" 00" x 00" 10" x 6.125" Pub. Contact: Delivery Route: Halftone Freq: Materials: Insertion Date: Jim Garrison ads@rhinotimes.net 150 lpi PDF 3/3/2016
Carolyn Answers ... Your wife needs help from a licensed psychologist for what appears to me as an experienced divorce attorney to be depression. Depression is a serious medical problem and so very commonly the cause of divorce. You should facilitate her getting the mental health help that she needs, just like you would if your wife had any other medical problem. On occasion, a spouse refuses medical/ mental health help, and the other spouse’s life becomes miserable and intolerable. In that event, divorce may
be appropriate. You can share with your wife that depression is common, and luckily many celebrities have been willing to talk about their depression. Angelina Jolie reports she went to a very dark place after her mother died, much like your wife. Jolie used physical exercise to shake the depression. Lady Gaga once said, “I’m lucky I found one little glimmer stored away.” Gwyneth Paltrow disclosed, “I felt like a zombie.” Eva Longoria opened up on Dr. Oz about post-divorce struggles (continued on page 38)
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28 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Musician To Make Music For Mousers Cat Culture Longtime National Symphony cellist David Teie announced in November that his crowdfunding project was hugely successful, freeing him to produce an album of music meaningful to cats. (Cats, for example, relax in response to the earliest sound of their mother’s purring, which Teie clocked at 23 harp notes a second.) Teie’s work, according to an October Washington Post feature, includes examining waveforms of real-time purrs and creating an organ sound to mimic the opening and closing of a cat’s vocal chords. His KickStarter pitch raised so much money that he might also try creating music for bored zoo elephants or stressed-out whales. In tests, cats responded well to Teie’s music, according to a 2015 journal article (but with less curiosity at the Washington cat cafe Crumbs & Whiskers). Leading Economic Indicators Amazon.com has riled up Buddhist temples in Japan, according to a January Associated Press dispatch, by offering traveling monks rentable online to conduct funerals and other rituals. The monk would go to a home, grave or funeral home, at fees and upgrades ranging from the equivalent
Speed Bump
of $300 to about $8,500. (Many of Japan’s 75,000 Buddhist temples are struggling financially and destined to close. Complained a spokesman for the Japan Buddhist Association, what Amazon is facilitating “is allowed in no other country in the world.”) In February, Gawker.com introduced the semi-serious Lube Crude Index as a poignant indicator of how far the price of oil has fallen. Comparing the world price of a standard 42-gallon barrel of crude (about $31) with that of a 55-gallon barrel of Passion Natural Water-Based Lubricant (retailing as, when packaged in smaller quantities, a sexual aid) shows that “sex lube” is more valuable than crude oil by a factor of 28 – a barrel’s worth of the lube recently priced at $1,175 versus crude’s barrel-adjusted $41. As recently as June 2014, the Lube Crude Index was near 1. (Gawker reported that only two actual barrels of Passion Natural could be found and that the price would likely rise further if one of them were sold.) Unclear on the Concept (1) Angel Rivera, 49, was arrested in December in Orlando, Florida, on allegations that he punched a child in the face because the boy was
by Dave Coverly
not getting dressed for church fast enough. (The boy was wearing an ankle brace, which slowed him down.) (2) Ryan Dailey, 28, was arrested in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in February on several charges after, police said, he beat his mother by pounding her with a Bible. His explanation, police said, was that when he asked her who her soul belonged to, she repeatedly declined to answer. Who Knew? The much-maligned pigeon was recently found by researchers to be as skilled as humans at distinguishing between slides of benign versus malignant human breast tissue. Writing in the journal PLOS ONE, specialists from the University of Iowa and University of California, Davis lauded the birds’ processing of color, contrast, brightness and image compression, marveling that pigeons see more wavelengths of light than humans, even though their brains are one-thousandth the size. (Birds are already known to distinguish “hostile” humans in celebrated dive-pecking incidents.) Police Report A near-certain robbery of the PNC Bank in Zebulon, North Carolina, on Jan. 28 was prevented, with employees treated to an almost-slapstick scene in which the bank manager kept the suspect outside by winning a tug-ofwar for control of the front door. The manager had grabbed the door after noticing an armed, masked man approaching from the parking lot just after the bank opened. (The frustrated perp fled empty-handed, but was at large.) Awkward Moments Ahead in Lockup: (1) Joel Sloan, 51, was booked into jail for DUI by a sheriff’s deputy in Birmingham, Alabama, in February. Sloan was dressed head-to-toe as a clown. (No explanation was offered.) (2) Vaughn Tucker, 23, was booked into jail in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in February on drug charges. He was wearing a T-shirt with large lettering on the front: “I Would Cuddle You So Hard.” Didn’t Think It Through: The robbers of the electronics store Compucell in Springfield, Massachusetts, in December came up empty, but are still at large. A man with a gun jumped
the counter and demanded that the employee give him money from the locked cash register. The gunman moved to the back door to let in his accomplice, but that merely allowed the employee and two customers to run out the front door, and the accomplice fled, too, sensing that, with no one to unlock the register, the “robbery” was going nowhere. Perspective American hunters are so trophy-killobsessed that, in the decade ending in 2014 (according to Humane Society figures), they averaged nine imported carcasses a day among the “Big Five” African species (lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos and African buffalo) – most of which require special US and foreign permits, with “conservation” conditions. Some countries endanger their own dwindling herds just to sell the lucrative permits, and South Africa even offers 150 captive lions a year to make trophy kills easier. (Total hunting imports of all animal trophies averaged 345 a day, mostly from Canada and Mexico.) The Litigious Society (Foreign) (1) Chandan Kumar Singh told BBC News in February that his recent lawsuit against the Hindu god Ram was provoked by Ram’s mistreatment of his wife in spiritual lore. Said Singh, “We cannot talk about respecting women in modern day India when we know that one of our most revered gods did not treat his own wife with respect.” Singh thus wants a court to tell the god to acknowledge he was wrong. (2) After news reports of a male Siberian tiger being playful with a male goat (ordinarily, a tiger’s meal) in a Russian safari park, lawyer Alexei Krestyanov pressured the local prosecutor in February to embargo further announcements, claiming that such coverage harmed children by provoking “interest in non-traditional sexual relations.” People With Issues Police in Austin, Texas, said in February they had received several complaints (KEYE-TV reported “dozens”) from women about a man who approaches them in public genially, but then turns aggressive and tries to stomp their feet (in one case, telling the woman it was “normal” behavior for him).
uncle orson (continued from page 18)
After John Oliver’s brilliantly funny explosion of the myth of Trump, and his rebranding of Trump with the original spelling and pronunciation of his family name, Drumpf, I really don’t have anything to add. Whether you love Trump or fearand-loathe Drumpf, you really do owe it to yourself to watch Oliver’s rant, which is worthy of Dennis Miller or P.J. O’Rourke in their prime: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnpO_ RTSNmQ (Not that I usually agree with John Oliver – his take on the great jurist Antonin Scalia was so wrong-headed and mean-spirited that I couldn’t finish watching it. And anyone who pretends to be telling the “truth” about science but doesn’t fact-check the assertions of global-warming chickenlittles is either lazy or conformist or both. But I’ve fact-checked much of what Oliver says in this rant, and it’s simply true.) I am one of those who expected Trump’s appeal to fade once people got sick of his lies and stupidity, his childish petulance and nastiness. Certainly his conservative following
should have evaporated when it became clear that all his friends are liberals, as were all his opinions before he started to run as a “Republican”; and that a Trump presidency would almost certainly be a continuation of the Carter presidency – except with a vindictive temper and without a spark of genuine Christian belief. So ... why is the pan-contemptuous Trump, one of the worst, most repulsive human beings to be in serious contention for the presidency, seemingly bulletproof? Why have so many Republicans staked their future, and the future of a country already in serious trouble, on the only candidate who has even more negatives and fewer credentials than Hillary Clinton? Why are religious people voting for a man whose life is the antithesis of what Christianity supposedly stands for? There’s no way that Trump rolled up those numbers in Nevada without capturing a high percentage of Nevada’s Mormon vote, which makes me deeply ashamed of my own people, who can’t seem to
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
understand that a man who blithely talks about a religious test for entering the country or for being under investigation is the enemy of all religions – especially when he has already expressed his contempt for and hostility toward Mormons. Cruz undoubtedly feels the same way, but, unlike Huckabee a few elections ago, Cruz has looked at who owns the Republican Party in the Rocky Mountains, and so he’s kept his disdain for Mormons to himself. It’s not that there aren’t precedents for Drumpf’s plan to curtail immigration based on a religious litmus test. President Rutherford Hayes (another Republican) actually tried to get foreign governments to block Mormons from emigrating from their countries to the US, on the grounds that such Mormons would be likely to break American antipolygamy laws. Scandinavian countries agreed to do what they could – diplomatspeak for “nothing” – and the British openly scorned the idea of limiting the civil rights of people who have committed no crime. A position that Drumpf himself might look at, when he actually attempts a tiny bit of research into American history, foreign policy and constitutional law.
29
You know, the things he’s going to hire other people to do for him, while he continues to spout off to the cameras and be famous, his fulltime job for the past year. Still, despite the increasing fear and loathing that Drumpf’s Hitler-like hate campaign provokes in people who actually believe in the American ideal, his campaign continues to have enormous and unexpected holding power among a group of people who think they are the grass roots of America. And, in fact, they are. To understand Drumpf, it helps to go back to the 1896 campaign, the subject of Karl Rove’s excellent book The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters. It was William McKinley who broke the power of the party bosses and took his nomination campaign directly to the people. Our current primary-centered “people’s choice” nomination process can truly be said to have begun with him. But Drumpf has nothing to do with William McKinley. Instead, we need to remember McKinley’s opponent, William Jennings Bryan. Bryan, an obscure congressman, was a true believer in the cheap-money, “silver” (continued on page 30)
30 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
uncle orson (continued from page 29)
side in the most heated issue of his day. While other contenders for the Democratic nomination courted party bosses and counted delegates, Bryan went all over the populist heartland, giving speeches against the gold standard in coinage. In those days, before radio and television, speeches were the entertainment of the day, and Bryan was entertaining. When the Democratic convention appeared unable to approve a nominee by the required supermajority, William Jennings Bryan made his famous “Cross of Gold” speech. Since the convention was already packed with pro-silver, antigold delegates, the speech was definitely well received, and it took only a couple more ballots for the convention to shift to Bryan as the nominee. It would be unfair to compare Bryan to Drumpf, because by all accounts Bryan was an honest man, a sincere Christian, and he actually believed the things he said. But his one-issue candidacy, based on fear and hate (of northeastern financial interests) in the midst of a depression, definitely resembled
Drumpf’s one-issue campaign of fear and hatred of foreigners. And while McKinley was actually quite moderate and really did not want to commit either to the gold or the silver side in the controversy (the wisest position, because both sides were hopelessly wrong in their beliefs about economics), it was a simple matter for his campaign to paint Bryan as an extremist who was completely unprepared for the presidency – because it was true. The Democratic Party, however, had been so taken over by the pro-silver faction that, just like Republicans wanting to purge the party of all RINOs (Republicans In Name Only), it was impossible for any moderate voices to get a hearing in Democratic Party leadership. Bryan was a disastrous nominee – not only in 1896, but also in 1900 and then again in 1908. Yes, three times the nominee – that’s how much the controlling faction of the Democratic Party loved him. And that was how thoroughly his “leadership” wrecked the Democrats as a national party for four presidential elections. When a Democrat finally won
beep
be looking within our own ranks to pull people in to certain positions instead of doing a national search.
%%%
(continued from page 26)
%%% the North Carolina NAACP wants to reject the new congressional maps that have been drawn. What is it that they don’t understand? They lost the election, but they still think they’re in charge of everything in the state. They need a wake-up call.
%%% Yeah, I’d like to find out how we can get this Friendly Avenue bus route extended. Bring it up to the end of Friendly and bring it down by TIMCO, bring it by HondaJet, and then bring it back up by Harris Teeter, and then bring it up to Friendly and go back inbound from there. They need a route down there by Harris Teeter. Been trying to find out how to do this. There are a lot of homes and developments and businesses out here who are missing out on the bus because it won’t go out this far. It stops down the road. It needs to seriously be considered out around the circle
(Woodrow Wilson in 1912), it was only because the Republican Party had split between its liberal and conservative wings (Roosevelt and Taft, respectively). William Jennings Bryan was a far better human being than Donald Drumpf. (Ignore the parody of Bryan as “Matthew Harrison Brady” in the Lawrence and Lee play Inherit the Wind – that was a well-written, utterly one-sided propaganda piece.) But his fanatical one-issue candidacy killed his party for many years. And if Trump is nominated by the Republicans, he locks the party into his own image – a party that celebrates stupidity, rudeness, cruelty, unfairness, and hate. Yet most of his supporters do not fit that description, and would never choose to be friends with anyone who did. In fact, most of them are resentful of the big money con game that is Drumpf’s true religion. So why are they voting for a stupid, lazy blowhard they wouldn’t enjoy having dinner with? Here’s why: Trump’s supporters are the people who are fed up with having no voice in American government. Since our present government has almost nothing to do with actual democracy, they are completely correct. These voters are keenly aware that the Constitution is no longer amended
down here. A lot of people at TIMCO and HondaJet would love to ride it, but they can’t. So, you need to find out how to extend it.
%%% Do you remember a while back when Obama had a secret meeting with the Muslim Brotherhood? Well, I can tell you what that was about. That was about closing Gitmo. And today is the day.
%%% Hey, Beep. I was listening to the City Council meeting on our cable station. And something came up about what John Hammer talked about concerning how we go out and search people who are qualified for a certain position. I forgot what position it was. Jim Westmoreland, the city manager, was talking about them doing an $80,000 search for a particular position. And I think, John commented on it as for whether it was – and Tony Wilkins, city councilman, commented on it that we need to
As I was saying, we spend millions of dollars, $80,000 for a position we’re looking for. Can’t recall what the position was. Which you made a comment about in your paper. And city councilmember guy is upset about it. Quite frankly, it was true. But we’ve got to stop having national searches of people we’re looking for when we’ve got talented and gifted people right in our midst. It’s the same way with the school board. The school board is looking for another person to replace Maurice Greene, which I don’t think was a great superintendent at all in my opinion.
%%% Yes, I hope some of the people who read this newspaper saw the Scott Kelly, CBS interview of Hillary Clinton when she was asked whether or not she has ever lied. I’ll run out of my minute before I’ll be finished telling you all the lies, but we’ll start with several early ones.
(continued on page 32)
through constitutional processes. Instead, appointed judges now invent “constitutional” rights out of nothing but the latest fads of inconsistent, incoherent, and often unjust and inhumane “progressive” ideology. The Equal Rights Amendment was rejected, so the Left abandoned the constitutional amendment process – and now, when judges decide that the Constitution requires that women must tolerate the presence in public restrooms of any man who decides to put on a dress, anyone who thinks this has nothing to do with the Constitution, and is dangerous to women, is declared to be a bigot who should be fired from his job and permanently silenced. It began in 1973, when abortion became a “right” despite never having gone through constitutional process. Since then, “right” after “right” has been “discovered” by conformists on the bench, who no longer even pretend that these “rights” are based on the actual written Constitution. Never was this clearer than when the courts redefined marriage to mean something it has never meant, despite repeated rejection of the idea by solid majorities in state after state. There was no way that such a radical redefinition could win approval as a legal constitutional amendment. So the courts simply ignored the Constitution. Change approved. Not only are democratic outcomes destroyed by judicial diktats, but also the academic and media elites treat the majority voters with open scorn, declaring the majority to be mentally ill or evil. If you oppose these diktats for any reason, your reasons are ignored and you are treated as if you wore a white hood or a swastika. Worse yet, the made-up “rights” are treated by the courts as higher than the rights that are actually spelled out in the Constitution. The “right” to homosexual marriage now utterly trumps the Constitution’s prohibition against the federal government establishing religion or interfering with the free expression of conscience. The “right” to kill unborn babies trumps freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, as both are banned within view of abortion mills. Whatever your opinion on these issues, it is a fact that none of these judicial diktats was ever enacted through the consensusbuilding process spelled out in the Constitution. Nor is there any legal recourse to overturn the dictatorship of the judiciary. Except two. The first is for the
(continued on page 30)
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
The New York Times
31
crossword puzzle No. 0221 AWESOME!
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BY PATRICK BERRY / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ 20
RELEASE DATE: 2/28/2016
54 Brother, in Brittany 1 Harmful aspects 55 Like many food-drive offerings 6 Go long 58 Showing signs of age 13 Surveillance 59 Utilized equipment 61 Sealant used by 20 Balloon NASA? 21 Shakespeare 63 Viscount’s inferior character who says, 65 “Quit talking!” “Good night, ladies; good night, sweet 66 Centurion weapon ladies; good night, 67 B-roll from “Splendor good night” in the Grass”? 22 “Wet look” product 70 Formal 23 Burlesque theater? 73 It’s divided into nine circles 25 Make amends for 74 Shutterbugs’ settings 26 Bathed in the sun
106 Supporting actors in a Bea Arthur sitcom?
75 2014 Cooperstown inductee Joe 29 Exceeded a limit 78 Certain H&R Block 30 Group engagement worker 31 Moviegoers who can’t 79 DuPont creation of afford concession1941 stand snacks? 81 Creator of plot holes? 37 Killers at sea 82 Ardent lover 40 Prepared for takeoff 83 Can of worms? 41 Class with 84 Broke up derivatives, briefly 87 Owners of large 42 Bad kid’s Christmas enthusiastic dogs? tree? 89 Cooler unit 44 Loses 90 Kicks off 49 Old Testament 91 Sustains prophet 92 Writing implement 50 Page views? from Planters? 51 “Eldorado” poet 97 ____-repeated 52 Political opponent 98 Lover of Radames, in of Ike opera
2 Wallachian prince who 37 Nonstop inspired “Dracula” 38 Shower accessory 3 “The Bridges of 39 Trick questions, e.g. Madison County” 40 Do data entry setting 43 Roughly removed 4 Her fans are called 44 Common pay period Little Monsters 45 Program with plugs 5 Smart 46 Heavenly painting? 6 Drubbing 47 Viscount’s superior 7 Longtime employer 48 Deteriorate of Helen Thomas, 51 Comma, to an orator in brief
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27 Toothy turner
112 Up on deck 113 Legendary lover of Abelard
18 Word with parking or postage
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19 What the Olympic sport of skeleton involves 24 Highly successful
114 Blake who composed 28 Like the “I’m Just Wild Mesopotamian About Harry” people 115 Crossed the sill
31 Writing assignment
116 Border disputer with Ethiopia
32 Ethylene ____
117 Works as a trader
34 Community leader?
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36 One of the so-called “Public Ivies”
8 Rangers’ org.
54 Food sticker
9 Was in charge
55 Finishes all at once, in a way
10 Fight of the Century loser
56 Some people movers
12 Fired up
57 One on the web at daybreak?
13 Ones helping people up?
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11 Egocentric tyrant
53 Guy Fawkes Day mo. 99 Feature of the Tokyo 14 “____ vobiscum” (Mass salutation) Imperial Palace Online subscriptions: 15 Toy dog’s bark Today’s puzzle and more 100 Greenland natives than 4,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords 103 Carol Brady on “The 16 Like iceberg lettuce Brady Bunch,” e.g. 17 Visibly amazed ($39.95 a year).
60 Strong punch
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69 Game with a 64-square board
85 Flag thrower
94 No slouch
86 Hung out with the riffraff
95 Instance of forgetfulness
105 Pindaric composition
71 Tanker mishap 72 Eastwood’s role on “Rawhide”
104 I.S.S. forerunner
107 New Haven student
64 Inclusions in safer passwords: Abbr.
87 Gift that may be gold- 96 Pool-cue-maker’s tool 108 Vocabulaire entry 75 Specifically plated 109 Intangible quality 97 Vowel’s value in Scrabble 76 Augural observations 88 Gave off 110 Expend
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77 Johnny Bench’s team 90 Rub the wrong way
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67 Like Derby entrants
80 Guitar part
101 Bass instrument
62 Geological sample
92 Social stratum
111 ____ Peres (St. Louis suburb)
32 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
beep (continued from page 30) How about the bimbos. Did she go after any of them? How about the trip to Bosnia where she said she was under fire on her way in? The Benghazi parents that she told was just a video and had nothing to do with the terrorism. Then the emails. Like I said, I’m almost out of my minute. I think they could dub in that barking thing that she brought up at one of her stops in Vegas that every time she told a lie a dog should bark. The whole interview with her would have been nothing but barking. Come on, people, wake up.
%%% In the Jan. 28 issue, there was someone who called in and made a long rant about how ignorant and stupid and uneducated and so on and so forth the Democratic Party was. Well, I called in the next week, Feb. 4. And I responded word-for-word with that exact same call in, only I changed the Democratic name and put in Republican. What’s amazing how simpleminded some of the responses have been to that. One guy wants to fight. I guess he can’t come up with the words. Somebody else wants to bash other politicians instead of bashing me. I’m the one that said it. Really, I didn’t say it. I just repeated what someone else said. There isn’t anybody bashing him.
%%% Yes, this is to the people that watches races. I watched the Daytona 500. I’ve been watching races for years. It’s called the all American race. It should be called the all Japanese race. Why don’t the France family watch some old racing movies in the ’70s and ’80s and see how many people is in the stands. They’re full. That was racing. That race Sunday was a joke. If anybody can figure out that wasn’t fixed, they don’t need to watch TV no more, and I think everybody should quit watching racing. They talk about Toyotas all week long. What happened to our cars, General Motors and Ford? Somebody needs to look into that. And I wish the France family would start watching TV. Thank you.
%%% If Uber were required by law to operate under the same laws and regulations that other taxi companies and transportation companies have to operate under, they would not exist. This company goes unregulated and unnoticed, and it’s just not fair. Why isn’t the playing field even for everyone? Why are they allowed to go unregulated, uninsured and unlicensed? It’s just not fair.
%%% Editor’s Note: Uber and similar companies are regulated by the State of North Carolina.
%%% (continued on page 34)
Get Fuzzy
by Darby Conley
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
Letters OTHER SIDE OF JAIL STORY DEAR EDITOR,
Facts are pesky little things that sometimes get in the way of the story you are trying to tell. So, what do you do? You omit them, just as Scott Yost did in his story “Numbers Show $92 Million Jail Never Needed.” Let me start off by saying Scott was right about the Kimme Report being wrong about the effect of diversion programs on reducing the jail population. The programs put into place by the sheriff’s office, the DA’s office and pre-trial release folks did make a impact beyond the Kimme Report expectations, and because of those programs the jail population has decreased on average from 862 to 843, or 19 inmates. That fact and those 19 inmates allowed Scott to write a story that used up a page-and-a-half worth of print, that and the fact that
33
LETTERS To The Editor
TO THE EDITOR Scott was not a proponent of a new jail in the first place. In fact, because of his opposition he was placed on a jail committee by Skip Alston. What Scott failed to report was the reason for the KImme Report in the first place. In our jails we literally had hundreds sleeping on the floor every night. We had no room for diversion programs and we were one lawsuit away from being taken over by the federal government and being forced to build a jail just as Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Durham and Forsyth had. We had no room for a special needs section such as drugs and mental health issues, as we do now. We could not take and keep federal prisoners, which we now can, which generates thousands and thousands of dollars which goes toward the debt service of the new jail. The health and safety of the prisoners and my officers were at risk because of the condition of a jail that had outlived its usefulness. The question at the time was
whether you built a new jail to solve the problem and what size do you build. The decision was made to build for the future. The bond passed for $115 million because the citizens saw the need and recognized the value of being proactive. The jail as Scott reports cost $92 million, which means we brought it in under budget and under time which shows government can work sometimes. Scott was right in the facts he reported. He just chose to leave out some I felt you should know for the rest of the story.
BJ Barnes
Guilford County Sheriff
WASHINGTON STANDS TEST DEAR EDITOR,
Given that my 8-year-old granddaughter knows how to Google just about anything, how can a writer to this publication not know anything
about George Washington? The slander of the first president of the United States is mind blowing. If President Washington were anywhere near the man depicted by the writer, we would be living under a king and not be the democracy we are. That’s right, he was so highly regarded some tried to convince him to be king. Slave owner? Yes. He inherited them after members of his family died and he was given the family lands. By the way, he is on record that he did not approve of the practice but it was the law. You know, like you can’t say anything bad about gays and transgenders without being accused of hate speech today. Indian killer? Yes. It was the French and Indian War. The Indians were not American Indians. They were tribes allied with the French. What do you think happens in a war? President George Washington was a man of intelligence and courage (continued on page 34)
34 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
letters
(continued from page 33)
SCARY NEW WORLD who, when called upon, led the DEAR EDITOR, colonies through a rebellion from the most powerful nation on Earth at that time. When offered great power after the Revolution, he chose to be a leader among the founding fathers to create a new country ruled by the people. No other country compared to the United States in the freedoms given to its citizens. Yes, I know, there were many injustices in the early years. But if it weren’t for men of vision like Washington, we would not have any of the freedoms we have today. We could be like many countries where women have no rights, people are jailed or killed for their faith, and there is still slavery, even today. That’s why Washington is on the dollar bill.
Mike Tellekamp
For some reason the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (England) has decided to create a “brave new world.” Last year British lawmakers decided to allow three-person in-vitro fertilization. Basically three people can create an embryo in England. Also, we should not forget that the first test tube baby, Louise Joy Brown, is a British subject. Now the British government is going to allow scientists to use gene editing on human embryos. Scientists will use something called the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool to alter genes in the cells of unborn human embryos. “Bad” genes can be gotten rid of, and “good” genes can be added. I wonder who will decide what is good, or bad. After one week the embryos must be discarded. I don’t
uncle orson (continued from page 34)
states to call a new Constitutional Convention, which is allowed for in the Constitution; but it would be an extremely dangerous process to embark on, because everything would be up for grabs, and while it is conservatives who want this convention, there is no guarantee that it won’t be coopted by the very Leftist idealogues who have defied constitutional processes in the first place. Thirty-two states have legally called for this convention. Three of those states have rescinded that call, and one house of Nevada’s legislature has also done so – but the Constitution doesn’t explicitly allow for rescission. Many scholars believe that, once legally passed, such a call can’t be rescinded. The Constitution also places no limitations on the changes such a convention can make. Even if it’s called in order to create a balancedbudget amendment (itself a bad idea), nothing stops the convention from enacting any change to the Constitution for which it can muster sufficient votes, voting by state rather than by population. So we are either two or five or six states away from having such an allpowerful Constitutional Convention. And the advocates of the Convention declare that all they need is those two states, because regardless of later actions, 32 of the 34 required states have, in fact, voted for it.
But before you get all excited, please imagine what Obama’s or Hillary’s new, improved Constitution would look like, and then decide whether or not to leave bad enough alone. Democracy carries no guarantees. That’s why the Left has openly rejected democracy as their preferred method of “reform.” For a list of states with a standing call for a Constitutional Convention, look at this site: http://www. sweetliberty.org/standing_calls.htm. The second choice for legally undoing the dictatorship of the judiciary is the one that is represented by Donald Drumpf’s campaign. When the citizens of ancient Greek city-states grew tired of being ruled by a selfish oligarchy – which is precisely what Drumpf voters, not without reason, believe our current government is – they threw their support behind a tyrant, who would strike down the oppressive laws of the oligarchy and govern in ways that were popular in the streets. Nowadays we use the word tyrant as a pejorative, but, anciently, tyrants were the last recourse of oppressed citizens. And as the American majority is repeatedly stifled, maligned and put down by judges, academics and media who are perfect conformists to the dogma du jour of the Left, is it any wonder that these disgruntled and ignored voters make common cause with a wouldbe tyrant whose only real program
know if discarded means thrown in the trash or flushed down the toilet. I am against eugenics, and slavery, so I think that gene editing is a bad idea. We need a law that bans gene editing in human embryos. We also need a law that would ban scientists from destroying, or “discarding,” embryos that they helped create.
Chuck Mann
PRODUCT OF HIS TIME DEAR EDITOR,
While I commend Chuck Mann for his stance against racism, he also needs to look at the modern era. The founding fathers, like us, were products of their generation. Also, while it is true that George Washington at one time owned slaves, he also emancipated them and compensated them and saw to it that they were taken care of. We are all flawed people. The Bible goes as far to say that “All
is: “I will fix this.” Now, Drumpf won’t fix anything, because he’s a lazy, ignorant man with poor impulse control. In fact, with his short little fingers on the nuclear button and his mouth already making wreckage of international relations, the likelihood is that he will provoke stupid wars by acting as the bully that we never were,
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” While it is true that by the standards of today our founding fathers had some flaws, they were also people of incredible courage who had the guts to stand up to and take on the most powerful nation in the world at that time. They were also people of honesty and integrity, two words that cannot and never will be used to describe either Mrs. Clinton or Barack Hussein Obama.
Jim Bailey
Editor’s Note: Washington owned over 100 slaves at his death. In his will he provided that all his slaved be freed after the death of his widow. While president, he had slaves working at the president’s house and made every effort to capture his slaves that ran away. Send to letters@rhinotimes.com or P.O. Box 9023, Greensboro 27429
despite the false self-hating beliefs of Obama and his ilk. Drumpf is running for tyrant. His supporters largely expect that he will take over the dictatorial powers devised by the Left and ram their conservative “restoration” down the throats of the Leftist elite. He will not. He cannot. Congress (continued on next page)
beep (continued from page 32) Hello, Rhino. Hey, Reid. Well, it would seem North Carolina cannot be content with itself. It’s found it necessary to change and rearrange its districts, and the people who represent these districts. And for what good reason? And at what cost? Somebody is getting paid a healthy salary to continue the confusion, controversy and chaos. Not only in this state, but in others as well. Keep practicing your juggling act, North Carolina, and maybe you’ll get it right. Finally satisfy the politicians. Southern Guilford and Otis here saying, nothing stays the same.
two elections held, three appointedfor-life federal judges decided they were not constitutional and forced the state to draw new districts.
%%%
How’s it going Reid? Shame on you, Sister. You offered to clean your elderly mother’s house. So, clean it. (continued on page 37)
Editor’s Note: You can’t blame the state for this one. After the districts had been approved and
%%% I thank you for being there. I want everybody in the Rhino family to know that lives in High Point, if you call the nonemergency number twice, then on the second time you call, they’ll tell you, we’re going to take you to jail for abusive 911, even though you called the nonemergency number twice. Isn’t that interesting? No wonder we can’t any new business here.
%%%
uncle orson (continued from previous page)
and the courts will block him at every turn, and if he thinks he can use the largely conservative military to enforce his will, he is wrong – their oaths are to the Constitution, and they take them seriously. Drumpf will get no help from them. And since most bureaucrats in the permanent, unelected government are committed to anti-constitutional Progressivism, he’ll find that the millions of government workers that he can’t fire will not obey him. Nothing he currently proposes will actually happen. He is like the kid running for student body president, promising soda pop in the drinking fountains and free candy bars at lunch. But even if he gets real power, it won’t help the people supporting him, because Drumpf is not a conservative at all. He has even more contempt for common people – you know, “losers” who aren’t as rich as he is – than Obama and Hillary and all the pretended “liberals.” He’s a “liberal” himself. He has always been and still is a part of the oligarchy. Once in he’s in office, those will be his buddies. When Drumpf does the single most important action any president ever takes – nominating someone to the Supreme Court – he will not be guided by conservative principles. He will be guided by whether his elitist friends think the person is cool. If you think we’ll get anyone of the quality of Antonin Scalia out of Drumpf, think again. Drumpf doesn’t like people with honor and intelligence, because he doesn’t understand a thing they say, he doesn’t get the way they make decisions, and he can sense that they regard him, correctly, as a moral and intellectual cesspool. So he calls them losers and makes fun of them. Watch him do it every time he speaks of his betters in the Republican race (his “betters” being nearly all of the other candidates). He hates people with actual ideas and principles because he’s ashamed of his own utter lack of either. Nevertheless, these are things we’ll only be sure of if Drumpf is elected, which is highly unlikely – even if Hillary is indicted or convicted. Please remember that Bill Clinton was openly guilty of perjury and sexual harassment – and the Left never wavered in their support of him. The Left will treat any indictment or conviction of Hillary the way they treat the Constitution – with contempt.
The Democratic Party long since proved that they have no shame. Only Republicans resign from office because they are proven to be hypocrites. Democrats just declare that their enemies are a vast right-wing conspiracy, and their supporters increase in their fervor. When Republicans diddle interns or sexually harass people who are under their power, they are hounded until they resign. When Democrats do exactly the same thing, they are reelected – with the full support of the very lobbyists who pretend to oppose those crimes. As someone recently put it in a Facebook meme, the problem isn’t that “a vote for Trump is a vote for Hillary” (though that is probably true). The problem is that “a vote for Trump is a vote for Trump.” America’s problems are real. We really are ruled by an oligarchy (though Republicans keep accusing the wrong people of being part of it) that has no respect for the rights of people who disagree with their insane ideology. Already the oligarchy is criminalizing speech that opposes their dogmas; already the Bill of Rights is in tatters because whenever it conflicts with judicial diktats, the Bill of Rights is trodden underfoot. So maybe that Constitutional Convention is our best shot at restoring democracy, despite its dangers. Meanwhile, though, Drumpf is not the answer to anything. We should be as frightened of him as German voters should have been frightened of Hitler. And Republicans should see him as the destruction, not the salvation, of their party and anything it ever stood for. Trump stands for nothing except for Trump. He only does what he thinks is good for Trump. You only like him because, so far, you haven’t gotten in his way. Trump supporters: It’s time to shudder, shake off this fad and regard your Trump bumper stickers the way people regard pet rocks and Beanie Babies – “yeah, I actually fell for that for a while.” Give your vote to someone who can govern responsibly, with respect for democracy and the Constitution. Since Bernie Sanders has already declared that he intends to govern, like Obama, by executive order, that leaves us with a handful of Republicans and no Democrats who can be trusted with the defense of the Constitution.
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
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Peripheral Neuropathy
WARNING! Greensboro, NC – The most common method your doctor will recommend to treat your neuropathy is with prescription drugs that may temporarily reduce your symptoms. These drugs have names such as Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin, and are primarily antidepressant or anti-seizure drugs. These drugs may cause you to feel uncomfortable and have a variety of harmful side effects.
In order to effectively treat your neuropathy three factors must be determined. 1) 2)
What is the underlying cause? How Much Nerve Damage Has Been Sustained. NOTE: Once you have sustained 85% nerve loss, there is likely nothing that we can do for you. 3) How much treatment will your condition require? The treatment that is provided at Advance Wellness has three main goals: 1) 2) 3)
Figure 1: Notice the very small blood vessels surrounding each nerve. Peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves often causing weakness, pain, numbness, tingling, and the most debilitating balance problems. This damage is commonly caused by a lack of blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet which causes the nerves to begin to degenerate due to lack of nutrient flow. As you can see in Figure 2, as the blood vessels that surround the nerves become diseased they shrivel up which causes the nerves to not get the nutrients to continue to survive. When these nerves begin to “die” they cause you to have balance problems, pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and many additional symptoms.
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36 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
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Carolina behind Bush and Carson, and fifth or dead last in Nevada. Kasich finished fifth in Nevada because there were only five people in the race. But NPR let Kasich talk about why Trump voters should vote for him. It boiled down to a free ad broadcast nationwide – including in the 11 Super Tuesday states – for Kasich, who has no chance of winning a single state. First of all, Kasich is far and away the most moderate Republican in the race. He’s the only one that anyone at NPR would even consider voting for. Most employees of NPR would slit their wrists before they voted for Cruz or Trump. Rubio is cute so he might get a vote or two from the liberals at NPR if they had no choice. Secondly, Kasich has about the same chance of winning the Republican nomination as my cat J.J. My cat is smart, demanding and won’t take no for an answer. He is quite handsome and the odds of him being president are slightly less than Kasich, who didn’t win any of the 11 states on Super Tuesday, did not win any of the first four states and, according to the polls, is losing in his home state of Ohio. So why on earth would NPR promote him? The only reason that makes sense is that he is far to the left of the other Republican candidates. Whatever Republican is elected, it is long past time for the government to stop funding liberal radio. If NPR wants to balance their far-left news reporting by having Rush Limbaugh in the afternoons, that might be fair. But I don’t know if three hours of Rush would make up for 21 hours of liberal screeching. It’s not just Obama – all presidents and politicians do the same thing – it just so happens that Obama is president and has been for seven years.
Obama claims credit for the unemployment rate going down but claims no credit for the fact that under his leadership the recession of 2008 still lingers. Usually the country comes out of a recession quickly, but under the economic policies of Obama the country still hasn’t recovered from the recession that he inherited. Obama also claims credit for the current semi-cease fire in Syria but takes none of the blame for the fact that there are so many factions fighting in Syria, backed by so many different countries, that we are funding and supplying different factions that are using our military supplies to kill each other. Syria is a disaster and the only country that seems to be having any effect is Russia, which has propped up the presidency of Bashar al-Assad so that he is not currently in danger of being toppled any day. All of Hillary Clinton’s State Department emails have reportedly now been released. But since this has been said before, it probably isn’t true this time either. What is true is that Hillary Clinton has repeatedly lied about her use of a personal email server to conduct State Department business. This is standard operating procedure for the Clintons when they get caught in a scandal. They lie, and then when they get caught in that lie, they revise it so it is closer to the truth but still a lie. Bill Clinton claimed that he “Never had sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky,” right up until the blue dress with his semen on it was produced. Without the dress Bill Clinton would still be lying and Hillary Clinton would still be claiming that it was all the product of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” – a statement that she has never withdrawn or corrected.
In this case, Hillary Clinton originally said that no classified information was sent or received on her private email server. When that turned out to be an undeniable lie, she revised it to say that there was no information that was classified at the time it was sent or received on her personal email server. When that turned out to be a lie she revised it again to say that no information marked classified was on her email server. Whether it was marked classified or not, it was still classified. And we know that Hillary Clinton ordered an aide to remove the classified marking from a document and send it to her on an unsecure line. It would appear that this was a regular practice. If there was classified information that the secretary of state needed, and it had to be sent by email, there was no choice but to remove the classified markings and send it to her on her personal unsecure server, which for a time was at her home in Chappaqua, New York, and later resided in a bathroom in an apartment in Colorado. I heard the leadership of the Republican Party described as “clueless.” Somehow it seems appropriate for the leadership of the Stupid Party to be clueless, and it could not be more accurate. What is the leadership of the Democratic Party talking about right now? How to beat Donald Trump. What is the leadership of the Republican Party talking about? How to beat Donald Trump. The only difference in the leadership of the two parties’ goals is that the Democrats want to beat Donald Trump in November and the Republicans want to beat Donald Trump in July at the Republican National Convention. It makes sense for the Democrats. It is beyond stupid for the Republican leadership at this point in the election cycle not to be all in behind the presumptive nominee. If the Republican leadership were not the
clueless head of the Stupid Party they would be having meetings talking about how to beat Hillary Clinton. But instead they are trying to defeat the man that, over months, in state after state, the rank and file of the Republican Party have said that they want to be president. Who do the Republican leaders think they are leading? They have completely lost touch with their own party. Once Trump gets the nomination, what he should do is fire every senior official in the Republican Party and hire a new crew. Imagine this scenario: Trump keeps winning but the Republican leadership, through some magic, is able to keep Trump from reaching the magic number of 1,237, so he doesn’t have a clear majority. But he has way more delegates than anyone else. So the Republican leadership decides to give the nomination to Rubio. Is the leadership so incredibly stupid that they think the Republican rank and file is going to turn out for a candidate that in state after state they rejected rather than the candidate they supported? Trump at that point may launch a third-party race. It is doubtful that he could win as a third-party candidate, but it is a given that he would beat Rubio. So the Republicans would finish ahead of the Libertarians but behind Trump – and Hillary Clinton would win. It’s sad to say, but the evidence is that it is true that the Republican establishment would rather have Hillary Clinton than Trump. What the Republican leadership needs to do at this point is get their act together, recognize that the rank and file of the party has left them far behind and they need to run to catch the Trump train, which is already overflowing with the people they say they represent. The deal that Obama made with Iran was a disaster from the beginning. But now it is obvious that the deal was even worse than it
(continued on next page)
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
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(continued from page 34)
appeared to be when it was signed. The reason it has become worse is because Obama is so invested in the plan that he can’t afford to enforce it. Iran keeps violating the terms of the agreement and Obama can’t afford to call Iran on it because then Iran will walk away and Obama has nothing. Iran will have gotten the $150 billion or so that had been withheld because of sanctions, and if they walk away from the deal now, Obama is left with absolute proof he has no idea what he is doing as president. Iran recently bought a missile defense system from Russia in violation of the agreement, but nothing will happen because Obama would have to admit he was wrong to have ever signed the agreement. Iran has won and will continue to win as long as Obama is president. If Hillary Clinton is elected she can be expected to do exactly what she did as secretary of state, which is nothing, and Iran will continue to be a rogue state. The only big difference being that Iran now has a lot more money to fund terrorism.
Don’t clean her out. I really hate it when parents reach their 80s and sons or daughters take advantage of the situation. Otis says, elderly people deserve better. Thank you from Southern Guilford County.
%%% Let me get this right. A man killed six people, wounded two more people, in between murders he was picking up people, giving them rides for the company he was working for. We all saw it on the news. Now, what I really don’t understand is, how anybody, anywhere, in any state, in any city, can use that service. Does a cheap taxi ride mean that much? How was this man ever approved to work for that company? Whenever you have a business and you open up employment to every citizen, that business cannot possible be safe to use. How can anybody, anywhere, in any city, in any state possibly use that service? Does a cheap taxi ride mean that much? Thank you.
%%% Yeah, I’m calling about John Hammer’s column in the Feb. 18 issue titled, “Westmoreland’s Dilemma Solved for Now.” And it says, one of Westmoreland’s acts as city manager was to name an assistant to the city manager. It is a jump that had never been made in Greensboro city government before. An assistant to and an assistant are vastly different jobs. Then he never really explains what the difference is. I hate to sound so obtuse, but I really can’t understand what it is. Can Mr. Hammer, please, explain in about two or three precise sentences what exactly the difference is in an assistant and an assistant to? I’d appreciate it.
%%% Yes, during the big Daytona 500 stock car race, the number 88 car come wheeling down through there and spun out and, fortunately, he wasn’t hit, but he slid across the infield and slapped the wall. Probably running
37
150 miles an hour when he hit it. Anyway, he knew his day was over. Dale Earnhardt Jr. that is. He got out of there and went over there. As he got checked out, about 10 minutes later he talked to the news man. And you could see the disappointment on his face and in his eyes. His race was over that day. Wasn’t going to be no 500 victory. Anyway, you could compare him to Cam Newton. Cam came out there sulking like a 12-year-old boy, son’s ball playing team. And Cam came out there and sulked. He was sulking. You see the difference. Junior comes out there and talks civilly and answers the questions, and you could hear the disappointment in his voice.
%%% Well, there goes Trump again. That’s just another message to all you career politicians from the local to the federal. We’ll vote you out of those cushy seats. So, take heed and start working for the people instead of working for yourself and be reelected and sit there and talk about things instead of getting stuff done. Have a good rainy day.
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38 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com
ask carolyn (continued from page 27)
with depression. The following are some of the red flags of depression, and your wife has many of these. Eight commons factors that suggest depression and the need for a psychologist are as follows: being tired all the time; feelings of hopelessness or helplessness; loss of interest in daily activities; changes in sleeping and/or eating habits; loss of concentration; negative thoughts that are out of control; changes in mood; increased use of alcohol or other reckless behavior. As I understand it, there are three “treatment” considerations for typical depression. First, physical activity can elevate your mood. Second, therapy with a psychologist can help. Finally, medications for depression exist. Good luck in getting your wife help and let me know how your situation progresses. Dear Carolyn, I am considering getting married. I have found the love of my life, except there is one problem. I am not sure
we view money and credit cards in the same way. I am conservative and I pay my credit cards off every month. I believe in balancing the monthly budget with the income I earn. I even save in my 401k and set aside some money for emergencies. My potential bride to be is always behind on her credit cards, and she spends everything she makes – more if there is a credit card available. Should I get a premarital agreement? What should I do? Carolyn Answers ... You might want to run, not walk away, from this potential bride. Money fights and problems are the number one cause of divorce in my experience, followed by adultery and substance abuse issues. In support of my theory, a Citibank survey indicated that 57 percent of divorcing couples cited money as the primary disagreement leading to the divorce. While this may seem weird, one of the similarities persons entering into relationships should have are similar FICO scores. You need frank and open
discussions with your lady before it gets too serious between you. In these discussions, you need to talk about the use of the future family money. How will bills be handled? How will savings and emergency funds be accumulated? Will there be a joint checking and savings account? Will you consider filing joint tax returns? Perhaps your potential bride can be educated, or perhaps there was one life event that tipped her over the credit edge. Or perhaps the debt is education loans that plague many of our millennials. Thinking someone will change if you enter the relationship is usually foolish, but you can see if she can be re-educated. A common way of dividing bills among partners, both of whom are wage earners of approximately the same amount of income, is a proportional sharing of household bills. Let’s say you have 60 percent of the aftertax income and she has 40 percent of the aftertax income. If the household bills with rent or a mortgage are $4,000 per month. You should place 60 percent of $4,000 in the
household account, which is $2,400. She should place $1,600 in the household account. Each of you can retain the leftover money for individual expenses such as clothing, nails and fashion magazines (or whatever). The plan should be for credit cards to be paid off monthly. You also need to have a savings plan that would provide for three months of emergency money, which in my example would be $12,000. And yes, get a premarital agreement. Send questions on family law and divorce to askcarolyn@rhinotimes.com, or P.O. Box 9023, Greensboro 27427. Please do not put identifying information in questions. Note that the answers in Ask Carolyn are intended to provide general legal information and the answers are not specific legal advice for your situation. The column also uses hypothetical questions. A subtle fact in your unique case may determine the legal advice you need. Also, please note that you are not creating an attorney-client relationship with Carolyn J. Woodruff by writing or having your question answered by Ask Carolyn.
www.rhinotimes.com | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | RHINO TIMES
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by John Hammer
If you hate the idea of Donald Trump being the Republican nominee and you’re looking for someone to blame, look no further than the leadership of the Republican Party. The leaders of the Republican Party are not being paid to fly around the country and hang out with fellow Republicans. They are supposed to provide some leadership for the party, engender some party unity and recruit good candidates who can win. If they are horrified by the good possibility of Trump being the Republican nominee, the time to stop him was last summer, not now. All the Republican leadership can do at this point is wait and see what happens. But why is the Republican leadership so against Trump? Because he attracts huge crowds and people are genuinely excited by his campaign? Trump is right when he says that Mitt Romney ran a terrible campaign. Romney should have won, but he made mistake after mistake. Benghazi was a gift and Romney didn’t use it. But Sen. John McCain ran an even worse campaign. This year if the Republican establishment were able to nominate the candidate it wanted – Jeb Bush – he would be slaughtered by Hillary Clinton. Bush didn’t have the fire in the belly that is required to win a presidential race. His campaign was based on the reasoning that it was his turn. His father got to be president and his brother got to be president, so it was his turn to be president. It was a belief that very few voters shared. Thousands of Democrats are leaving their party to vote for Trump. Did anyone leave the Democratic Party to vote for McCain or Romney? Plus, the argument that Trump shouldn’t get the nomination because he isn’t a conservative doesn’t hold water. Neither McCain nor Romney were conservatives and the Republican leadership got behind both of them. The idea that Sen. Marco Rubio is the one to beat Trump seems completely flawed. Rubio has been able to win one out of 15 states. Rubio finally decided to attack Trump, and how did he
do it? By saying that Trump wears too much makeup, sweats, was checking to see if he wet his pants and has small hands. Does any of this sound presidential? There are plenty of issues on which Trump can be legitimately attacked, but having small hands is not one. Also, if Rubio thinks that Trump is going to wet his pants because Rubio made some snide remarks about him during a debate, he hasn’t paid much attention to the man he is running against. Trump has been attacked by the media since long before he started this campaign. An attack from a first-term senator who is struggling to stay in double digits in the polls isn’t going to scare him. The huge problem that both Sen. Ted Cruz and Rubio have in going up against Trump is that they are both professional politicians. The voters have heard all of their promises many times before from a host of professional politicians and they turned out to be empty promises. What have either Cruz or Rubio done in the Senate, which has a Republican majority? Not much. Cruz filibustered, but when he finally ran out of steam, the Senate ignored him and he was outvoted. The way you win in the Senate is not by talking the longest but by putting together enough votes to pass or defeat a bill. Cruz, as Trump has pointed out, doesn’t have a single friend in the Senate. He doesn’t have the endorsement of a single fellow senator. Why should anyone think that if he were elected president the Senate would be anymore likely to follow him than they are now? One of the big reasons Trump has been on top of the polls all along is because he has a strong core of followers. And he is now proving that he can expand beyond that base. If, instead of running against 10 opponents Trump had been running against two, he would likely not have been ahead in all the polls. Against two strong candidates Trump would theoretically have been stuck in the high 20 percent range, which means he might be third or a distant second. Having all of these candidates – like Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Gov. Chris Christie, Dr. Ben Carson, Gov. John Kasich and Jeb Bush each polling in single digits – pulled those votes away from
the two candidates who it appeared had a chance to beat Trump, Cruz and Rubio. It makes the Republican Party look like a bunch of dolts to have everybody and his brother (pun intended) running for president. It just isn’t a good way to win at politics. Then again, considering some of the folks that the Republican Party considered worthy of running for president, maybe Trump is the best the Republican Party has to offer. If the Republican Party leadership is curious about why Trump is doing so well, they might want to take a look at his press conference on Tuesday night, March 1. Trump took a bunch of questions, and he answered them. He allowed the journalists followup questions. He didn’t do what professional politicians do, which is listen for a key word that matches a key word in one of their memorized responses and then say, “I’m glad you asked that question …” and launch into their prepared answer on the general topic. Trump listens and responds. It’s a refreshing change. If the Republican leadership still wants to stop Trump, they should put the pressure on Kasich and Rubio to drop out. Kasich, no doubt, is staying in because he’s hoping he’ll win his home state Ohio on March 15. It is a winner-takes-all state, so the winner of the Republican primary gets 66 delegates. If the Republican Party leadership wants to beat Trump they need to get Kasich and Rubio out of the way and allow Cruz, the only candidate who has had any real success against Trump, carry the banner for the Republican establishment. But there is a huge problem with this scenario. The Republican establishment may hate Cruz more than Trump. So the Republican establishment is vehemently opposed to the two candidates that the Republican voters overwhelming support. It might make an unbiased observer conclude that the Republican establishment is completely out of touch with the Republican Party, and the unbiased observer would be right. What the Republican establishment needs to do is get out of Washington for a couple of months and talk to real live voting Republicans. They would find that the majority of those rank-
and-file Republicans are completely disgusted with the Republican establishment. If I didn’t have a chance to comment on it every week, I don’t think I could stand to listen to NPR. Last weekend I was listening when NPR brought in an expert to talk about the value of endorsements as Trump racks up one after another. The expert, who worked on President Barack Hussein Obama’s campaign and then worked in the Obama White House, was of the opinion that the endorsements for Trump didn’t mean much, but the endorsements that Obama received were really important. It’s hard to rationalize, but evidently, according to this expert, Trump’s endorsements don’t count, but Obama’s endorsements did. It was only after all the commentary that the NPR newsreader told the listeners that this expert is now working for Hillary Clinton – and that is what passes for unbiased reporting on NPR. The only way that could have been truly unbiased is if NPR had followed up with someone from the Trump campaign talking about the endorsements the Democratic candidates had received. Any expert who says the endorsement of Gov. Chris Christie is meaningless is not much of an expert, and this guy was not. He was doing what he is paid to do, which is make Trump look bad and Hillary Clinton look good – and he was doing it with our tax dollars. One final NPR complaint (and I can’t believe the Republicans continue to fund this liberal leftwing news organization). On Super Tuesday, NPR, as expected, was doing a report on the presidential primaries. So what do they do they? They introduce Kasich as the candidate who came in second in New Hampshire, ignoring that he came in eighth in Iowa, beaten by the three front runners – Trump, Cruz and Rubio – as well as by Carson, who is still in the race, and Sen. Rand Paul, Bush and Fiorina, who have all dropped out. Kasich finished fifth in South (continued on page 36)
40 RHINO TIMES | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | www.rhinotimes.com