Welcome, readers, to yet another fine episode of "Ask Boomer With Attitude," live from Charlotte, where football trumps academics any day of the week.
Dear BWA: When in hell is Parks Helms going to go to jail? -- If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention
Dear If: First of all, congratulations; you hold the new record for longest reader nickname, albeit one that was copied from a bumper sticker. Parks Helms resigned last week as head of the county ABC board after it was revealed that he attended a lavish November dinner paid for by a liquor company. Helms won't be going to jail, nor should he, since no one has shown that the dinner was provided in exchange for favors from Helms. State ABC honcho Jon Williams said Helms was an example of a "culture of entitlement" in the alcoholic beverage system -- and Williams should know, since he heads up that system. Helms says he is a scapegoat, which rings true, considering that the November dinner was merely a particularly expensive version of a common form of industry/government rail-greasing. Williams and Gov. Perdue are to be commended for their determination to clean up the system -- in fact, it's long overdue -- but it's lamentable that Parks Helms became the designated fall guy.
It's a lousy end to a fine career of public service; Helms led the county commission through turbulent times with an even hand, while promoting progressive values. Over the years, he became a kind of benevolent godfather for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Democrats, and his career, overall, was a positive, constructive one.
Dear BWA: I read your blog entry moaning and groaning about possible new teacher layoffs. I agree it's a shame, but why do you liberals always think more taxes are the answer to every problem? -- Taxed to Death
Dear Taxed: For the umpteenth time, I'm not a spokesperson for "you liberals," but I'll try to answer your question anyway. It's simple, really: Education of our kids, in the form of public schools, is a basic, important function of government in civilized countries. Governments run on taxes. There's a shortage of school money. Ergo, get more school money -- but not necessarily by raising property taxes.
Once again, I suggest that county leaders talk to Bank of America about ponying up the funds to help out CMS. The new bank CEO says they're staying in Charlotte, so you'd think there's enough civic responsibility at BofA -- or enough interest in covering their butts, considering the pain they've caused Charlotte in the past 18 months -- to bite the bullet for the city's schools. Keep in mind that for Bank of America, the $80 million or so it would take to overcome the shortfall would be a mighty small bullet to bite ... more like a BB.
If a corporate sugar daddy doesn't come through, however, the new school board needs to rise to the occasion and make the public case for more funds. As we suggested in the blog post (at www.theclogblog.com), the board should put on its grown-up pants and tell the county it needs more money. My suggestion is to levy a one-time surtax on private schools. I'm sure board members can come up with more ideas to raise enough money to avoid painful cuts, but in any case, they need to get moving, do the job they campaigned for, protect the kids, and fulfill the basic social need they're in office to provide.
Dear BWA: Well, Mr. Conflicted Catholic (aka "Cafeteria Catholic"), what do you say to the Vatican's slam of you liberals' favorite movie, Avatar? -- Proud Conservative Catholic
Dear Proud: There we go again with the "you liberals" shtick; give it a rest, guys. As for the Vatican and Avatar, considering that the current Pope was John Paul II's attack dog in matters of doctrine, it would be shocking if the Vatican didn't have something to say about the world's most popular film. The Vatican newspaper's film critic said Avatar was bland (what meds was he on?), and blasted the movie's supposed "spiritualism linked to the worship of nature." That opinion, said a Vatican spokesman, reflects Benedict XVI's views on the perils of "turning nature into a 'new divinity.'" I didn't see the film that way at all, but even if the critic is right, so what? I repeat: So what? Which gets to the root of the problem between the Vatican and many American Catholics. In the land of free speech and thought, a sizeable minority of U.S. Catholics aren't willing to have somebody 3,000 miles away, no matter how tall his hat, tell them what to think about every little thing -- even if the Vatican has done precisely that forever, and sees it as one of its primary functions. A briefer, more succinct, answer to your question, I suppose, would have been "Who cares?"
John Grooms will read from his book, Deliver Us From Weasels, Saturday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m. as part of Carolina Writers Night, at Story Slam on Central Avenue. Others taking part include playwright John Hartness, novelist Pat McEnulty, and columnist/musician Steve Stoeckel. Here's a link to the event: http://storyslamcharlotte.com/detail.aspx?id=52.