The Good Fight

We all know that one of the costs of war is the damage done to our soldiers who come home, whole on the outside, but severely damaged on the inside. The business of killing and being shot at by those who wish us dead is fundamentally at odds with what most of us have experienced or been taught. Is it any wonder that normal young men and women, taken from quiet, stable families and thrown into the hell of war often come back permanently damaged? Some can be treated with therapy and understanding. Others, like 23-year-old Miles Bigham of Columbia, S.C., were either too damaged or not diagnosed with depression or PTSD in time to same them. Bigham committed suicide last October. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the suicide rate for veterans between the ages of 18 and 29 has gone up 26 percent from 2005 to 2007.

Here is the story of how Bigham's family has dealt with their loss. See the whole account in The State newspaper at
www.thestate.com/local/story/1138263.html

Mills Bigham was a 19-year-old Marine in Iraq when he made his first kill.

While on a foot patrol, someone hurled a grenade at Bigham's squad. Bigham, who was at the point, turned and fired.

"I pulled the trigger quickly, twice. Pop ... pop," the Columbia Marine wrote in his journal.

Two bullets hit the attacker's chest, knocking him to the ground. Within minutes, he was dead. The grenade was a dud.

Bigham checked the attacker's identification.

He was 12.

Less than four years later on Oct. 19, Lance Cpl. Mills Palmer Bigham sat in his red Chevy Tahoe, put a .410-gauge shotgun to his forehead and pulled the trigger one last time.

He was 23.

I guess this qualifies as old news, but it just came to my attention, thanks to a friend who peruses some of the dark corners of the Internet. One of the darkest corners is a little online trinket called The Sentinel. It is the newsletter of Secession Camp # 4, a local bunch of neo-Confederate wingnuts who cannot get over what happened a century and a half ago. In their October 2006 issue, they decided it was time to settle the score with yours truly.

So here it is: my trip to the Secession Camp # 4 wood shed. I have been dubbed a "heritage violator." I hang my head. I hang my head.

Read the whole newsletter at Oct06 Pages.pub. It's a hoot!

HERITAGE WATCH
This months Heritage violator is long over due to be called out for his anti-Confederate hate speech. He and the fish wrapper he writes for take every opportunity they get to attack anything dealing with our Confederate Heritage. He is Will Moredock who writes for the City Paper. To call that rag a newspaper would be a stretch. They have no interest in fairness or the other side of the story and continually twist facts in an effort to make anyone who supports our Southern Heritage look bad. His most recent misrepresentation came when he simply copied the misinformation that another fish wrapper, The State newspaper, published and supplied to AP, regarding the Hunley project and Senator Glen McConnell. Moredock, rather than checking out the story simply lifted all the distorted information he could read and threw in a few of his own uninformed comments. He even had the nerve to accuse The Post and Courier of covering up the story because they correctly did their own research, rather than copy The State’s distorted story. The Post and Courier produced a for more accurate picture of the Hunley project which showed many of The State’s figures to be distorted. That however didn’t deter Moredock from attacking the Hunley project, Senator McConnell and even The Post and Courier. After all if he had any interest in the truth he wouldn’t be writing for the City Paper. It seems crystal clear that the label Confederaphobic is far more appropriate for Mr. Moredock than journalist. There is one truth we have learned from Mr. Moredock though and that’s what to wrap fish with.

Another friend from Summerville contacted me to take issue with what I wrote about Dorchester School District 2's priorities and the widening of S.C. 162. (See my post from January 31, 2010.) He reminded me that a DD2 employee, Joe Bunch, was killed on that road in 2008. The road is quite dangerous and Superintendent Joe Pye is concerned with the safety of all, not just those traveling to football games. Here is a link to the Post and Courier story about the fatal wreck.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2008/oct/09/beloved_schools_employee_killed57266/

A friend in Summerville brought this story from the Summerville Journal Scene to my attention. According to the "Depressing Report," Dorchester School District Two is seriously in the red and must furlough teachers and administrators as well as increase class sizes and curtail course offerings. Yet the article also states that District Superintendent Joe Pye is pressing for the expedited widening of S.C. 165 near Ashley Ridge High School:

DD2 Superintendent Joe Pye said he’s concerned about the narrow lanes and low shoulder, which could become a problem when Ashley Ridge hosts big football games this fall. More than 10,000 people could travel that road to a game when Summerville and Stratford high schools play there, Pye said.

In case you wondered why education in this state sucks, could there be a better explanation? We would rather cut classes and teachers than raise taxes. We would rather build a road to the football stadium than educate the children in the school building. Read the whole sorry story at http://www.journalscene.com/news/-Depressing-report-

If you were appalled at Andre Bauer's suggestion the other day that poor people are like stray animals and the best way to control them is to take away their reduced-price school lunches, you will not be surprised that he is still at it. This state has a record 12.6 percent unemployment rate. Does Andre think that all those people are just lazy and deadbeat? Here is a Facebook conversation a friend had with the lieutenant governor. And this guy wants to be our fearless leader! Read it and weep.

Christine xxxxxxxxxx January 24 at 2:42pm
I have never heard such ignorance come out of a person's mouth. I seriously doubt that withholding food from those less fortunate was the lesson your grandmother was trying to teach you. You owe her and the people of South Carolina an apology.

Andre Bauer January 24 at 5:14pm Report
She believed that you teach a man to fish not give him one. The media has not reported exactly what I said. I hope you will listen to the tape of my speach. With the current budget situation we are going to have to take away tihings from the needy and part of this is because we keep giving to the lazy. I feel a real leader offers solutions
on how to break the cycle of dependance. This can be do by offering an incentive for them to get a GED. If you have ideas I would love to hear them. That is how we have an open discussion and fine ways to move or state and the people in it forward.

Christine xxxxxxxxxxxx January 24 at 6:21pm
I agree with you about teaching people to fish which is why we need better public schools. Cutting school lunch programs is not going to solve anything. People are not inherently lazy. Many in SC have just given up. I can tell you first hand how discouraging it has been trying to find work after being layed off and how demoralizing it is to have to go on unemployment. Your main concentration needs to be on creating jobs in SC, which employ the parents who can then provide the lunches the children need. Real leaders set a high bar and then teach people how to reach it, not by beating people who are already down. Offering a GED doesn't get people anywhere. Come up with programs that chart a way to get a full college education. Help create more Technical Schools so we can provide more employees to manufacturing companies willing to locate here. Your Grandma might have also said, "People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for." If you think the problems in SC are are lazy and dependent people, all you can offer is 4 more years of the same government that has led to SC where it is today.

Andre Bauer January 24 at 6:49pm Report
I am not for cutting school lunch programs. In fact I was offered them when I was in school. What I do think needs to be discused is general poverty and how you break the cycle. Lots of people talk about jobs as a way to fix all the problems but some people are just fine not doing anything. Because of those who abuse the system, the real needy in turn suffer. I appreciate your thoughts and concerns.

Christine xxxxxxxxxxxxx January 24 at 7:47pm
Those that abuse that or any system will not change. All you will do by cutting government assistance programs is hurt the needy and make poverty worse. Please give me one example of a state that has raised up people out of poverty by cutting assistance programs. That's like punishing a whole class because one student cheated. Why continue a failing system? So if not jobs, what? I appreciate your thoughts too, but I feel you are just focusing on the negatives and continuing the status quo.

A hell of a lot of people have taken Pat Robertson to task for his cruel remarks concerning the earthquake in Haiti. Here are some thoughts of Charleston's leading atheist, Herb Silverman, as they appeared in his most recent Washington Post online column. It's one of my favorite reads. You should put it on your list, as well.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/herb_silverman/2010/01/natural_not_supernatural_disasters.html

I'm not particularly concerned about flat earthers and Holocaust deniers in this country, because they have no influence. I can't even name one, and that's a good thing. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about Pat Robertson, a household name to Americans. Even worse, he is influential and respected by millions. According to the book of Robertson, the reason for every disaster is sin, and the solution usually involves sending him money.

While Haitians may not blame past sins for the earthquake, many have a worldview similar to Robertson's. Numerous Haitians gave thanks to God for keeping them alive. They, like Robertson, believed that what happened was the will of God.

Here's an alternative view. The "fault" lies under the Atlantic Ocean, not in the sins of Haitians. The earth's tectonic plates are neither good nor evil. The more we learn about their shifting, the better we will be able to predict future earthquakes.

My January 20 City Paper column was a farewell to Dan Carrigan, who has spearheaded South Carolina's drive for smokefree workplaces. Dan is leaving the state for New York City, but under his leadership we have passed smokefree ordinances in 30 counties and municipalities around the state.

But on his way out the door Dan wanted to leave us with a little more information that we can use in our argument for clean air and smart public health policy in S.C.

On this link from Smoke Free Kids, check out the bullet point on page 4, which shows that 70 percent of South Carolinians favor smokefree workplaces, putting S.C. squarely in line with the rest of the nation in popular support for smokefree laws. www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0290.pdf

Here is a Reuters report of the Centers for Disease Control study which shows that smoking bans cut heart attacks.
20091015_US_report_confirmssmoking_bans_cut_heart_attacks_Reuters.doc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Indoor smoking bans lower the risk of heart attack, even among nonsmokers, by reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, a panel of U.S. health experts confirmed in a report on Thursday.

The report, produced by the Institute of Medicine for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides the most definitive evidence to date that laws that ban smoking from workplaces, restaurants and bars can reduce cardiovascular-related health problems where they are imposed.

"Secondhand smoke kills. What this report shows is that smoke-free laws reduce heart attacks in nonsmokers," said CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden.

Here is a report from Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, citing the Institute of Medicine study which confirms that smokefree laws reduce heart attacks. 20091015_ANR_release_IOM_Report.doc

And finally, here is the Surgeon General's report on second-hand smoke, which convinced Charleston's mayor and city council that it was finally time to go smokefree. It's powerful stuff. Save it and use it the next time you are dealing with some Neanderthal who thinks that his "right to smoke" trumps all other considerations. As Dan reminds us, there is no constitutional right to smoke. Smokers are not a protected class. They are just a pain in the ass. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2006/index.htm

Here's one Christian I can get on board with. Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street — A Moral Compass for the New Economy, and editor in chief of Sojourners magazine.

Here's an excerpt from his recent column in the Washington Post.
Find it at www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123101156.html

One cold morning the week before Christmas, I found myself huddled with a group of homeowners and religious leaders on Pennsylvania Avenue, in the shadow of the White House and the Treasury building. The homeowners, who had all worked hard to buy their first homes, and most of whom had put enough money down to qualify for fixed-rate mortgages only to be persuaded into more exotic mortgages, were facing imminent foreclosure. We had come to stand with them....

I keep coming back to the concept of grace. When the government tried to save the economy from meltdown, real grace was extended to the big banks — but now the banks seem unwilling to extend grace to anyone else, including homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments. I am reminded of one of the parables of Jesus, wherein a master forgives the debt of one of his servants out of pity for his circumstances, but then that servant refuses to forgive the debt of another servant who owes him a little money. The master gets angry and throws the unforgiving debtor into prison. The money-changers in the temples of Wall Street would do well to take note.

Clearly, the financial crisis is a structural meltdown that calls for increased government regulation of banks and other financial players. Members of faith communities, such as those who joined me in front of the Treasury building, are helping to push for this sort of reform.

But at its core, this is also a spiritual crisis. More and more people are coming to understand that underlying the economic crisis is a values crisis, and that any economic recovery must be accompanied by a moral recovery. We have been asking the wrong question: When will the financial crisis end? The right question is: How will it change us? This could be a moment to reexamine the ways we measure success, do business and live our lives; a time to renew spiritual values and practices such as simplicity, patience, modesty, family, friendship, rest and Sabbath....

The banks say they are "too big to fail." So let's make them smaller. We might finally get Wall Street's attention.

Never thought I would find myself writing this, but hats off
to Post and Courier editor and columnist Frank Wooten
for his column on Sunday, January 17, blasting the likes
Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Rush Limbaugh. It was
sparked by Robertson's absurd and obscene comment
last week, blaming the Haitian earthquake on a supposed
"pact with the devil" the Haitian people made two centuries
ago. (To refresh your memory, see my blog for last week's
entry on Pat Robertson.)

Could Wooten be going rogue (to coin an expression?) on
the op-ed page of the P&C? You be the judge, but it makes
you wonder of Pierre Manigault reads his own newspaper
these days, when such straight-up talk can actually see the
light of day. Congratulations, Frank! Looks like you are growing
a pair!

See Wooten's column in full at www.postandcourier.com/staff/frank_wooten/

Also scary: The lousy deal that Republican politicians have made for the last few decades to get the Religious Right vote — a deal that evidently requires paying periodic homage to the TV preacher likes of Robertson.

Heavy baggage already is imposed on the conservative movement by controversy seeker Rush Limbaugh, who on his show Wednesday said of some urgent fundraising efforts:

"We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax."

Even heavier is the baggage imposed when candidates cater to flat-earth notions grounded in old-time religion. For instance, during the first Republican presidential debate of the 2008 race (in May 2007 — seriously), Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo and Sam Brownback raised their hands to signify that they didn't believe in evolution.

Maybe they really didn't believe in evolution, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting it. (If you're among those still doubting it, consult a biologist).

Maybe they did believe in evolution but also believed that they needed to raise their hands to prosper in a party co-opted by people who insist that "creationism" (oops, now they call it "intelligent design") is legitimate science.

Maybe we should judge politicians on more pertinent matters than professed religious faith — or lack thereof.

Maybe so-called conservatives should cut the holier-than-thou act and instead focus on restoring their fiscal-responsibility credibility.

The Rev. Pat Robertson, star of the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club" and founder of the Christian Coalition, made a fool of himself again today, saying in front of a live video camera that the Haitian earthquake was the result of the the Haitian people's historic "pact with the devil."

Isn't this the same guy who blamed Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans' wicked ways and who blamed the 9/11 attackson feminists and homosexuals. Yes, I think it is!

The only thing more appalling than the fact that this crazy bastard is seen as representative of American culture to much of the world is the fact that he is still a mover and a shaker in the Republican Party. IN fact, he finished second in the 1988 Iowa GOP presidential caucuses and he could probably make a good showing today.

Read the full French response to the crazy bastard in Robert Marquard's Christian Science Monitor story at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0114/Pat-Robertson-Haiti-comments-French-view-theory-with-disbelief

It took about five nanoseconds for evangelical Pat Robertson’s video verdict on the causes of the Haiti earthquake to start making the rounds in France.

Mr. Robertson’s theory that Haitian slaves made a “pact with the devil” 200 years ago in order to free themselves from the hated clutches of Napoleon Bonaparte's regime — resulting in a curse that led to the destruction of much of Port-au-Prince and a massive loss of life in Tuesday's earthquake — got the usual chuckles of disbelief among local intelligentsia about American culture.

It was bad enough that he said the successful slave revolt came during the reign of "Napoleon III, or whatever" (the Haitian Revolution led by Francois-Dominique Toussaint L'ouverture was in fact completed in 1804 when Napoleon Bonaparte ruled France, 44 years before his nephew Napoleon III came to power). But here in Haiti’s former colonial master, talk about the Robertson “theory” clouds with myth an early if awkward chapter in self-determination: the Haitian slaves are considered the first to collectively and successfully overthrow their colonial masters. In this case, the French....

Quoted Thursday on Salon.com, UCLA anthropologist Andrew Apter says the notion of a “pact with the devil” as behind the slave victory “is so absurd it is almost funny. This notion of a pact with the devil is basically an echo of an old colonial response to the successes of the 1790s Haitian revolution."