Shards, Threads, and Nails

The problem is nearly intractable, and at this point mitigating its devastation may be a matter of degree, even if every person and government on the planet made a total commitment to drastically reducing greenhouse emissions. Yet, our government, in almost total defiance of the consensus of the international community, stands ready to pull out of the critically important Paris climate accords, signed by 195 countries, and ratified by 147. As one of the world's leading polluters, the United States must participate, and even take the lead in transitioning to low-impact, sustainable sources of energy. Our very survival may depend on it. Human-created mass extinction and deforestation are already threatening the entire biosphere. Political destabilization, war, and famine, exacerbated by drought, superstorms, and heat waves, have created millions of climate refugees. And this is only the beginning. Many of our leaders deny that climate change is real. The absurdity of this sta...

For years, Donald Trump has romped through the imagination of American politics, fulfilling various socio-psychological roles: so-called “businessman,” provocateur, entertainer and brand. The attitude behind his infamous swagger and scowl is epitomized by his legendary tag line delivered near the end of his popular reality show: “You’re fired.” Those two words spoke endless volumes of power, control, and above all, decisiveness. Here was a man who was unafraid to make tough decisions, and is that not the definition of a true leader? The smoggy sunset of white American male hegemony is hard to take for those on the losing end of bi-coastal digital disruption and college-educated technocracy. In ways big and small, everything about our culture screams with a megaphone that unvarnished consumerism, wrapped in a hip but safe multiculturalism is the way forward, and if you can’t keep up, there is not a place for you. No wonder simmering resentment burst forth into violent rage as...

"I alone can fix it!" Thus you bellowed, Donald, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016. Congratulations, Mr. Trump, you fixed it all right. It's all fixed up. Although, let's be honest, who knew fixing could be so complicated? Hey, race relations needed fixing, and you are on your way toward solving that. Nothing throws an olive branch out to minority communities like appointing an Alabama prosecutor and Senator whose signature claims to fame are attacks on voting rights and immigration. But you know what? History will be kind to those who were loyal, and Jefferson Beauregard Sessions clung to you like a ventriloquist dummy in a bright red MAGA hat through the long hot summer, and into the pussy-grabbing fall, and you rewarded him well. You and Jeffie both characterize inner cities as "war zones." And you know what they say, "this American carnage ends." Saying it is as good as making it true, and what with Jeffie's...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Camel City. Tobacco, along with textiles, built this town, and R.J. Reynolds remains a mainstay of the city's economic life. It's hard to go anywhere without being reminded of the legacy of this formidable corporation and its influence on civic and philanthropic life.  However, it is high time our city washed the nicotine stains for our fingertips. We need a complete and immediate break from any money associated with these merchants of death. Reynolds has arms of its organization that do important and outstanding work in our community, but the company and its associated PACs also fund numerous political campaigns, mostly for Republicans, but would you believe that it also gives money to Democrats? Why do corporations give to politicians? The answer is simple: they hope to influence policy in ways favorable to their business interests. An example is the complex set of regulatory rules unfolding for e-cigarettes. Legislation regarding how th...

On Monday night in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a resolution pronouncing my community a " welcoming city " was withdrawn from consideration by its author, Councilman Dan Besse . This document, which is a watered-down compromise of a previously proposed "sanctuary city" resolution promoted by a group of persistent activists, is for now the latest casualty of a far-right, all-out assault on immigrants led by the Trump administration and state legislatures across the country, including the gerrymandered state house in Raleigh. Before drilling into the details of what happened on Main Street last night in a medium-sized city in the middle of North Carolina, let us take an overview of where immigrant rights stand now. We know that Trump has twice signed executive orders banning travelers from "certain" Muslim majority nations, countries chosen apparently for their ability to rouse fear in the hearts of heartland America than out of any sober analysis of...

If there was a single takeaway from the historic election of 2016 it was this: the "angry" electorate is sick of business as usual in politics. On the right, we had, of course, the norm-shattering defiance of so-called political correctness of Donald Trump, while on the left, the Bernie revolution proved that even an old man from Brooklyn could attract huge swaths of voters with plain speech and a progressive message. But what is it that makes voters so angry? Why is Congress routinely one of the least popular institutions in the country? Sure, economic anxiety and long simmering racism have to be a part of the equation. Until we fix these problems, there will always be underlying tension and resentment. But the single biggest impediment to restoring trust in government is the overwhelming sense that politicians are bought and sold to the highest bidder. And as we have been told by the Supreme Court, corporations are people. A variety of campaign finance reform measures h...

Hello, my name if Peter Wilbur, and I am a North Carolina tax payer. Like most of you, I'd guess, paying taxes is not on my list of favorite things to do. But, I understand the importance of good roads,  competent fire fighters, recycling bins, and good schools. You see, I'm a public school teacher in Winston-Salem. In fact, I teach elementary music, a program that is facing severe budget cuts if the General Assembly Republicans have their way. On tax day, we must vow to never let their budget and tax plans pass. Huge giveaways for the wealthy are unconscionable when school teachers are paid 41st in the nation, and PE and arts programs are on the chopping block. They'll sell this as a middle class tax break, but that is a lie. One state bill that should become law is SB 587, also known as the T.R.U.M.P Act. That just happens to stand for tax returns uniformly made public, and it would mandate that a candidate for President in North Carolina make three years of I...

Shock and awe. Remember that phrase from the second Gulf War? We dropped an unprecedented number of bombs with terrifying names like "bunker buster," under the gravely mistaken notion that if we rooted out the bad guys, the grateful Iraqi people would suddenly coalesce around the idea of democracy. We would be heroes, and above all, the oil would flow again. Rousing scenes of the toppling of a giant Saddam Hussein statue were instead followed by years of protracted warfare, thousands of American soldiers killed and maimed, the establishment of torture camps by our own government, untold death, destruction, and displacement of the Iraqi people, the aggravation of bitter sectarian conflict, the establishment of a U.S.-backed government nearly as corrupt and repressive as the Hussein regime, and finally, an utter power vacuum in much of the country that precipitated the rise of ISIS. Our nation possesses the most extensive and technologically advanced killing apparatus in...

By Peter Wilbur Syria, and in particular, Donald Trump's spectacular reversal of his policy there, signaled emphatically with 59 Tomahawk missiles, has grabbed headlines across the world. Secretary of State Tillerson met Putin in a dramatic meeting freighted with Cold War tension. The Donald's son, Eric, says how this new toughness proves that his father had no secret ties to Russia, yet the fact remains that there is an entire nest of ties, potential conflicts of interest, and yes, even collusion to sort out. On Wednesday, it was leaked that Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, has been under investigation by the FBI. In fact, that agency obtained a FISA warrant, which can only be granted with probable cause. Under question is whether Page was in fact an agent of the Russian government while he was working for Trump. It is widely known that Page worked in Russia in the 2000s, at the very least negotiating oil and gas deals, but likely on behalf of the Russian ...

The process by which legislatures surgically draw voting districts in order to preordain partisan victory is finally getting the coverage it deserves. Indeed, courts have recently ordered amended lines for North Carolina's Congressional districts, while the future of the entire General Assembly, whose lines were deemed “race-based,” lies in the hands of John Roberts and SCOTUS. Will we have a special election in 2017? Will we have radically new lines? If so, in which districts? Thanks to the wide screening of films such as “Democracy for Sale” as well as influential writing by authors such as Ari Berman and David Daley, we now are gaining a clear picture of how deep the problem runs. SInce both parties have historically engaged in the process of gerrymandering, a powerful bipartisan movement is afoot to remove districting power from the state legislature and put it in the hands of an independent commission to ensure that every North Carolinian’s vote counts the same. One p...

Every morning, we wake up to a fresh Trumpian outrage, as the orange one's fat little thumbs have tapped out the latest vitriol via Twitter before we lift our weary heads off of the keyboards we fell asleep on because we were up past midnight planning how to block his Cabinet, or save ACA, or get to Burr and Tillis, or, respond to Russian hacking. Is it any wonder that some of us are experiencing outrage fatigue? As the Day of His Ascendence (formerly known as Inauguration Day) approaches, the more the sense of impending doom and inevitability grows. After the election, outrage and disbelief propelled many into passionate, but ultimately quixotic pursuits. Flipping the electors. The Jill Stein recount. As those prospects faded away, and the names and hideous bios of Trump's Cabinet appointees came out, many geared up to protest and block that odious pack of cronies, capitalists, and cranks from running the country. Lists of committees were drawn up, scripts written, acti...

I have been working on advocacy and action items for RISE Together NC, and this has been a singular week, as Congress came into session, Trump went to war with the intelligence community, and the fights to save Obamacare and to block Cabinet appointees heated up. I often see posts and comments on line that wonder, "isn't the ACLU going to do something about this?" Or, "where have the Democrats been?" My answer is always: if you are asking out loud about who should take action, look in the mirror and answer your own question. Yes, there are any number of advocacy groups that are working hard on all the issues you care about. But they don't have the resources or speed to respond the way ordinary, fed-up citizens can. They don't have you. As word broke early in the week that the House GOP had secretly met to scrap independent ethics oversight, a small team got to work crafting a call script, a meme, and a few tweets. Armed with these tools, and a ha...

Throwing this entire year into the garbage bin of history misses the majestic silver lining that the ascendence of Trump has produced: a bigger resurgence of citizenry, activism, connection, dialogue, soul searching, and rededication to passionately held core values I have witnesses in my life time. Yes, the assholes are--very temporarily--in charge. Yet, the outpouring of passion, dedication, determination, and love on these forums has been incredible. We are facing multiple potential catastrophes, as the worst among us are allowed to plunder the nation's riches, but we have affirmed to each other the reservoirs of patience and resistance we have inside ourselves. Our nation was founded on too great an ideal to let the forces of darkness prevail. Together, we will cling fast to what is still left of legal precedent, due process, the free press, and political convention and decorum against those who would smash all of these idols in service of returning to a mythical, yet still o...

This morning’s lead editorial in the New York Times suggests that because Donald Trump and some of his ignoble appointees to Cabinet posts such as EPA, Energy, and Interior are avowed climate change deniers, that it will fall to the states to continue the hard work of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Exemplary efforts by a few states are noted, including the fact that 33 states cut emissions while still growing their economies. I think there are three crucial takeaways here: We must continue to fight the myth that environmental regulations are job killing. Quite the reverse is true, when coupled with creative ways to foster and encourage alternative energy sectors like wind and solar. Another way of putting it is that the lack of protections is killing the health of our children, of our citizens, and of the planet itself. Here in North Carolina, we must continue to stay vigilant while our state legislature and McCrory-appointed environmental officials allow our rivers to...

The NCGOP authors of this bill--one of the most notorious pieces of discriminatory legislation to come out of a state house since the days of Jim Crow--knew that they could use the old stereotype that LGBTQ people are sexual predators to rally support for this bill. That is shameful in and of itself, since this has been disproven time and time again, and because the assault on gay and trans rights has left those communities with numerous and debilitating social, psychological, and financial problems. These communities need our support, not further stigma. An attack on the civil rights of one single citizen is an attack on all of us. But even that venomous smear against the character of our LGBTQ sisters and brothers dilutes other ominous provisions of the law: it ties the hands of local governments to broadly protect gay and trans rights, it specifically leaves them out of a list of groups that should be protected from discrimination, and it bans citizens from seeking redress f...