Society

Computer Hacking and National Security

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From Our Gastonia, NC Correspondent

Do the denial of service attacks have other implications for US national and economic security?

The denial of service (DDOS) attacks last week which took down Netflix, Amazon and other large sections of the internet should be a huge wake-up call to our nation’s IT security experts.  The evidence so far is that the attacks were launched not with PCs or laptops, but with millions of internet-enabled home devices such as refrigerators, baby monitors and door cameras.  The “internet of things” was used against us in a scenario reminiscent of some bad dystopian sci-fi movie. Continue reading →

Baseball and Little League

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From Our Gastonia, NC Correspondent

As I write this, the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians are readying to meet for a Game 7 For The Ages in the World Series.  Never before have two teams with such a record of futility and heartbreak met for the championship of any professional sport.  It is moments like this when we, as Americans, embrace the simple, pastoral, agonizingly slow movement of baseball and tune out the chatter and clatter of the world around us. Continue reading →

Should felons, no matter their race or crime, be granted voting rights?

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Gastonia, NC Correspondent– This is a tough one for me. I firmly believe that the right to vote is one of our most sacred. While I might secretly wish that there was an intelligence test administered before the franchise was granted, the fact is that if you reach the age of 18 with a pulse, you get to register to vote…unless you commit a felony. Among the other indignities visited upon those whose life path takes an unfortunate turn into criminality is the loss of the ability to step into a voting booth and cast a ballot for whoever they think most likely to grant them a pardon. Continue reading →

In 2013, over 17 million American households were confronted with hunger and lack of nutritionally affordable food. The high cost of fruit and vegetables has put lower income Americans out of the market for these foods. Much of it is simply discarded by grocery stores for cosmetic reasons. Should grocery stores be allowed to continue this practice?

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From Our Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent

Current prohibitively high costs of produce have canceled out access to its consumption by millions of low to moderate income Americans. Many simply cannot afford to purchase fruit or vegetables and have to rely on less nutritious and lower cost produce type products through canned goods and other sources.   Continue reading →

Are school bus cameras worthwhile for safety or will they wind up causing privacy problems and higher traffic accident rates similar to traffic cameras?

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Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent-School bus cameras can be worthwhile for safety as long as the school district in question has the full support of the school board and parents residing in the district. If parents are concerned about the safety of their children and provide their consent and school boards initiate the action, then cameras should be used.  School security officials and local law enforcement need to be in sync with what the school board, parents and the community demand regarding safety on school buses. Continue reading →

A North Carolina history teacher recently stomped on the American flag in demonstration and support of a lesson involving the First Amendment. Should this particular teacher or any other instructor be fired for this kind of history lesson?

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From Our Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent- Lee Francis, a history teacher at Massey Hill Classical High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, recently patterned a First Amendment rights discussion around desecrating the American flag.  Mr. Francis even went so far as to ask students for a lighter, but he then turned to his desk and picked up a pair of scissors and attempted to cut the flag.  He probably realized lighting the flag on fire would be a fire code violation, so he turned instead to the scissors.  When he was unable to cut the flag, he threw it on the ground and proceeded to stomp on it, all in the name of his First Amendment rights (abridging freedom of speech). Continue reading →

Charlotte Protests

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From our Gastonia, NC Correspondent- Greetings from Charlotte, North Carolina, where a city that’s previously seen incidents of police officers shooting unarmed men has NOT devolved into a hellscape of broken windows and empty tear gas canisters.  Of course, during the previous incidents, we didn’t have busloads of outside agitators being brought in to gin up trouble and make sure the rabble remained appropriately roused. Continue reading →

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick recently refused to stand for the national anthem before an NFL exhibition game. Should Kaepernick be asked to apologize, be fined, and asked to sit out games or be forced to leave the NFL?

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Owatonna, MN Correspondent-Ever since the tragedy of 9/11 and its resultant knee-jerk reactions of revenge, declaration of war on terrorism, and an emphasis on patriotism, outsized attention has been given to perceived acts of disrespect to America and so-called American values. We started singing “God Bless America” at sporting events. We put an emphasis on thanking our military members for their service. Patriotic songs such as “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood gained new popularity. Celebrities seemed to fall all over themselves to show support for the wars in the Middle East. Continue reading →

Are school bus cameras worthwhile for safety or will they wind up causing privacy problems and higher traffic accident rates similar to traffic cameras?

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Gastonia, NC Correspondent-The city of Austin, Texas, long one of my favorite places on earth, made the national news recently over its implementation of cameras on school buses which are designed to catch those who refuse to heed the myriad of things that blink and beep to tell you the bus is stopped and speed blithely by, frequently mowing down a tot or two in the process. Continue reading →

With the Obama administration’s plan to yield control of the technical management of the internet to those in the global community, should Congress prevent the turnover of the internet to foreign interests and the United Nations?

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Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent- The major technology companies, which include Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, Amazon and others are now calling for Congress to support the plan for transfer of the technical aspect of the internet to those in the global community. Many in the public, private individuals and internet based companies are wary of this plan because of numerous restrictive and invasive aspects, which likely entail the full run of the internet by rogue and authoritarian regimes that already want ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to become part of the United Nations. Continue reading →