Enough with the Destruction
‘The Resistance’ can count me out if all it seeks is destruction
By Michael M. Barrick
I am an old hippie who has no use for the ways of the established order. Ask the CEO of any corporation or the principal of any school for which I’ve worked. Or the pastor of any church I’ve attended. Most “order” is based on outdated, controlling systems designed to destroy creativity, and hence freedom. That leads to injustice.
I was raised to recognize and oppose injustice. I was also taught to do it peacefully. I was also taught there were great costs to standing against “The Establishment.” I learned that mostly the hard way.
I still oppose “The Establishment” even though my generation is the establishment. I am with the disaffected and dissatisfied. I am not satisfied with the direction of our nation. I believe “Citizens United” has led us down the path of crony capitalism even worse than the Robber Barron era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In short, the inordinate control that corporations exert over our personal lives and political systems as a result of that Supreme Court decision have so polluted our national discourse that this outcome – violent resistance – was inevitable.
It is still unacceptable though. “The Resistance” must reject anarchy. Too many protesters are leaderless with no clear purpose short of destruction. If they wish to improve how our nation cares for the poor, vulnerable and the environment (I think that’s what they want other than Donald Trump’s head), they need leadership. Now.
That would – should – come from progressive clergy and politicians. The anarchists have legitimate complaints. There is truth to the saying, “If you want peace, work for justice.” There is plenty of injustice today. No ordinary American would ever enjoy the bailout received by Wall Street. Police departments do not need to be militarized. Energy companies such as Dominion and Duke should not be allowed to destroy the environment and seize private property through eminent domain to build fracking infrastructure. The War on Drugs is a complete failure, leading to the unjust imprisonment of tens of thousands of people, mostly minorities. We are spending more on the military than ever before even though we can’t muster the will to provide health coverage for all Americans.
So, one can understand the anger.
Violence, however, is not the answer.
To appreciate that, one needs a sense of history. There is talk on street corners no matter where I go that people say they’ve never seen our country in such a mess. I have. It was 1968.
The Vietnam War was at its peak, with thousands of young Americans subjected to an unjust draft. It was called the Selective Service System and it was very selective. If you were in college or could get a deferment because daddy had connections, you weren’t selected. So, eventually, the working class youth had enough of it and started burning draft cards, fleeing to Canada and even occupying buildings. Yes, there was some violence, especially at the Democratic National Convention, but that was largely precipitated by Chicago’s ruthless police.
Also in 1968, blacks, a century after the completion of the Civil War, were still having to fight for economic justice and attempts by white supremacists such as Alabama Governor George Wallace to deny them their constitutional rights.
The nightly news in 1968 was dominated by headlines about war, domestic unrest, racism, and political assassinations. We’ve been here before.
The most obvious attack upon the Civil Rights movement was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. But he was not the only person killed that year. So was Bobby Kennedy, as he closed in on the Democratic nomination for president. So were activists and students. The nightly news in 1968 was dominated by headlines about war, domestic unrest, racism, and political assassinations. We’ve been here before.
As I did then, I turn to music for guidance. The folk and rock protest music of the 1960s and 70s helped stop the Vietnam War. And, the most popular group of the decade, the Beatles, spoke to the madness of 1968 through their song, “Revolution,” which was released in November of that year. Compared to many other groups, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Beatles had been relatively silent on political issues – until John Lennon penned “Revolution.”
Here is the first verse: “You say you want a revolution / Well you know / We all want to change the world. / You tell me that it’s evolution / Well you know / We all want to change the world. / But when you talk about destruction / Don’t you know you can count me out.”
Well, 50 years later, nothing has changed. I want to change the world. There are literally as many ways to do that as there are people willing to do it. But when you are destructive, you lose me as an ally.
Being destructive is being lazy. It shows a lack of real thought about how to address our many disagreements. It sets a horrible example for our children, and converts nobody. It is unbecoming of a human being. So, if we wish to convince others to be more humane, we must set the example.
No violence. No destruction. Only love.
Try it. It is my experience that in the end, to be effective, you’ll only have time for love.
© Michael M. Barrick. Photo by Alice Donovan Rouse on Unsplash
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Remembering April Renee
This poem is shared in memory of our dear “little” sister, April Renee Ball (WVU ’84) who passed away on Aug. 30, 2017. You may read her obituary here.
April Renee (Barrick) Ball
When, from St. Mary’s Hospital
Sparky returned home in the snow,
she carried with her
the scarlet-faced baby
that forever, to Mickey and me,
would be Little Sister.
Walking home from school with you
from first grade on,
I thought would last forever.
But then I chose a path in 1974
which, to this day, remains a mystery.
On a return trip home you smiled away
as the speakers in my orange Beetle
blasted Uriah Heap against your ear drums.
In time you found a man
I considered worthy – as if it mattered.
Together you gave me two of my best friends –
your daughter, your son
my niece, my nephew.
Though separated now by timely death,
apart physically but present in spirit,
the bonds of love between Little Sister, Big Brother and Big Sister
are held together by memories,
and our dearly departed Mother and Father.
With a prayer of joy and a tear in my eye,
I daily thank God
for January 10, 1962.
© Michael M. Barrick, 2017
American Health Care is an Industry, Not a System
Recognizing the distinction is essential to ensure access as a basic human right
By Dr. Arthur M. Sherwood and Michael M. Barrick
The United States Congress has no hope of resolving any of the many health care challenges facing Americans until it understands that in the United States, health care is an industry, not a “system.”
This distinction is critical – and one would think, obvious. Just ask anyone seeking quality time with their physician, looking for an insurance company that won’t demand that their doctor discharge them from a hospital earlier than medically appropriate, and playing the pharmacy lottery forced upon them by the pharmaceutical companies. The difficulty in accessing health care is apparent to anyone who has had need of it, from difficulty in funding care to identifying appropriate care.
So, with the costs and complications of the health care industry evidently beyond reform – considering we’ve been debating this issue since the Truman Administration – it is time to transform how Americans access health care.
We believe that health care is a fundamental human right, embedded in the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” phrase of the United States Declaration of Independence. Hence, we support universal health insurance with a single-payer system. Incidentally, it is far more efficient than the current puzzle of industries competing for profits, when the focus of health care delivery should be clear – exceptional care for every person.
First, though, members of Congress need to understand and concur that the U.S. does not have a health care system. Only by correctly understanding the issue is an intelligent approach possible.
We believe that health care is a fundamental human right, embedded in the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” phrase of the United States Declaration of Independence. Hence, we support universal health insurance with a single-payer system.
Some have argued that the United States has the best health care in the world. It may be true that outstanding providers of health care can be found in the U.S. But it is certainly not true that we have the best health care system in the world.
Health care in America is anything but systematic; according to “Webster’s Universal College Dictionary,” systematic means “having, showing, or involving a system, method, or plan.” There is no plan. There has been no plan. There is not even method to the madness.
The good news is, Congress has an example from which it can learn – the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was created after the Civil War to honor Abraham Lincoln’s idea expressed in his Second Inaugural Address: “to care for him who has borne the heat of battle, and his widow and his orphans.” Indeed, the VA adopted this sentiment as its motto in 1959. The Veterans Health Administration is the largest single provider of health care in the United States, and provides care for millions of veterans. It has seen creation of many of the advances of modern medicine, including the very concept of clinical trials. Creation of electronic health records was facilitated by the VHA, as was promotion of preventative medicine. Provision of care is done via a network of small and large facilities spread around the country, with additional funding possible to provide care in every corner of our great country.
The absence of any real system can be seen in the lack of any structured plan for systematic care of the population. For example, if an individual sustains a serious injury to their spinal cord, there is no mechanism in place to ensure that patient gets sent to the centers best equipped to manage such injuries.
It is even much more evident in the nation’s depressing health statistics, where, e.g., the life expectancy for adult males has actually declined in recent years, the only advanced country in which that happened, reversing what had been a steady advance in life expectancy over the past century. Or, perhaps more importantly, where the rate of childbirth mortality is so high that the U.S. ranks 45th in the world in that category. Mothers in the U.S. are twice as likely to die in childbirth as are mothers in Canada.
During the past decade in particular, this inability to distinguish between a nation with a health care industry and not a system has misdirected the debate regarding the health care needs of Americans. Many of the arguments about financing health care miss the point. The fragmented nature of such financing is further evidence of a lack of a system. Currently, far too much time, effort and money is expended on cost shifting – playing games with peoples’ lives in order to minimize expenditures from each competing source, whether that be the individual, one or more private, for-profit, insurance or pharmaceutical companies, or local, state or federal governments.
Cities and counties bear much of the expense of indigent care; state budgets are severely impacted by costs of health care, and the federal budget allocates a great deal of money to health care. With all that money spent, the lack of timely and appropriate health care sends many people to the emergency room, with a lowered likelihood of good outcomes (compared to early, preventative care), utilizing the most expensive entry point into health care. Additionally, the lack of universal prenatal care results in unconscionable and unnecessary outcomes such as a higher percentage of premature births and prolonged stays in astronomically expensive neonatal intensive care units.
Our current approach to health care delivery makes no sense fiscally, and is morally bankrupt. It is absurd for a country such as ours claiming to be an advanced civilization to exhibit so little care for our fellow citizens. And it is even more disturbing that those claiming religious affiliation and allegiance permit such a situation to persist in conflict with Matthew 25: 35-40.
It has been our experience, as professionals in health care and with spouses who have devoted their lives to providing loving, exceptional care, that almost all caregivers are motivated by a desire to help people. For the sake of the people needing such care, it is incumbent upon Congress and President Trump to quit the political posturing, acknowledge that our current industrial approach to health care delivery is inadequate, and replace it with universal, single-payer coverage. We already know how to do it. It’s called Medicare. And, it is what the majority of Americans want. As is customary, the people “get it” first. The question is: Who in Congress and at the White House will stand up for the American people? Who will put people before profit?
© Arthur M. Sherwood and Michael M. Barrick, 2017.
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All photos on Unsplash. Operating room photo by Piron Guillaume. Pregnancy photo by Marcos Moraes.
About the Authors
Dr. Arthur M. Sherwood earned his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Duke University in 1970. He has devoted his career to helping veterans and others with spinal cord injuries maximize their ability to function independently. He has also been very active in the Baptist faith, having served as a Trustee at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for 10 years, and staying active in a local congregation wherever his vocation has taken him.
Michael Barrick has a post-graduate Certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management from the UNC School of Public Health. He worked for several years as a paramedic and has served as Safety Office and Disaster Preparedness coordinator at two hospitals. He is also an experienced journalist, specializing in health care reporting. Catholic Social Teaching informs his writing.
A Few Questions for White Supremacists
What crimes are written on your skin?
By Michael M. Barrick
The Rev. William Apess, an ordained Methodist minister and Native American (he was part Pequot), put in writing the questions below and asked them of his white audience. He did this in 1833, nearly 200 years ago. Sadly, his questions remain relevant today – perhaps more so, because after two centuries, it is startling to think that every white person in the United States has not been forced to ponder these questions. In any event, here is what Rev. Apess asked of his white Christian brethren:
Now let me ask you, white man … have you the folly to think that the white man, being one in fifteen or sixteen, are the only beloved images of God? Assemble all nations together in your imagination, and then let the white be seated among them. … Now suppose these skins were put together, and each skin had its national crimes written up it – which skin do you think would have the greatest? I will ask one question more. Can you charge the Indians with robbing a nation of almost of their whole continent, and murdering their own women and children, and then depriving the remainder of their lawful rights, that nature and God require them to have? And to cap the climax, rob another nation, to till their grounds and welter out their days under the last with hunger and fatigue. … I should look at all the skins, and I know that when I cast my eye upon that white skin, and if I saw those crimes written upon it, I should enter by protest against it immediately and cleave to that which is more honorable (“The Native Americans,” p. 299).
I enter my protest. I cling to that which is more honorable – the truth that all people are created equal. The dishonorable truth is that white nationalists, supremacists and the KKK are ignorant, abhorrent blemishes on the white man’s skin. As a white man that is descended from “Indian killers” as my forefathers shamefully bragged, I am mortified. I repent. To atone for these sins, all that I can do is shine light on this truth – that no race is superior to another.
© Michael M. Barrick
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Asheville Catholic Vicariate Issues Statement in Support of Immigrants
‘We Are Strangers No Longer’ asserts that Gospel requires that immigrants be welcomed
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Asheville Vicariate Council of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte has issued a Pastoral Statement in support of immigrants. The document, “We Are Strangers No Longer,” follows below. (El Consejo del Vicariato de Asheville de la Diócesis Católica de Charlotte ha emitido una Declaración Pastoral en apoyo de los inmigrantes abajo).
In our first pastoral statement over eleven years ago, WELCOMING THE STRANGER, we invited our Catholic community to welcome the newest immigrants to our Asheville area. At that time we were responding to widespread panic within the immigrant community when a number of people were detained and deported. We joined with the bishops of our country in calling for a comprehensive reform of a broken immigration system. In the ensuing eleven years, our Catholic community generously welcomed our newest brothers and sisters. Today, immigrants are no longer strangers, but an essential part of our faith communities. Unfortunately, the broken immigration system of eleven years ago has all but collapsed. Today, the conditions faced by immigrants have considerably worsened.
Where our brothers and sisters suffer rejection and abandonment we will lift our voice on their behalf. We will welcome them and receive them. They are Jesus and the Church will not turn away from Him . . . .
Our immigrant brothers and sisters have called on us to respond once more to the panic in which they and their children live. They never know when their families will be torn apart. Children, many of whom are citizens of our country, live in constant fear that their parents may never return home from work. Parents worry that their children, who have received protection under the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), may be permanently separated from their families and deported. The threat against families is real. The fear is intolerable. After eleven years of failed attempts to reform our laws concerning immigration, families and children are still living in fear.
This situation is happening to our immigrant brothers and sisters here and now. They are our parishioners and have shared with us their rich traditions of faith and family. They make a positive contribution to the life of the Church, the community and the economy. In response to the Executive Order on Refugees this past January, 2017, the president and vice-president of the national conference of Catholic bishops stated:
The Lord Jesus fled the tyranny of Herod, was falsely accused and then deserted by his friends. He had nowhere to lay His head (Lk 9:58). Welcoming the stranger and those in flight is not one option among many in the Christian life. It is the very form of Christianity itself. Our actions must remind people of Jesus. The actions of our government must remind people of basic humanity. Where our brothers and sisters suffer rejection and abandonment we will lift our voice on their behalf. We will welcome them and receive them. They are Jesus and the Church will not turn away from Him . . . . Our desire is not to enter the political arena, but rather to proclaim Christ alive in the world today. In the very moment a family abandons their home under threat of death, Jesus is present. And He says to each of us, “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).
(Joint Statement, USCCB, 30 January 2017)
And as Pope Francis continually reminds the Church, “the face of each person bears the mark of the face of Christ!” And he adds:
“Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. ”
(Message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2014)
Through the centuries, people have looked to the Church as a sanctuary where people may turn for help and protection in time of need. As immigrants today look to us for spiritual support in this time of crisis for their families, we are united in calling on our Catholic community and all people of good will to stand with immigrants and their children. We invite Catholic Charities and our area Catholic schools and Faith Formation programs to be especially mindful of the needs of children who are living in fear. We encourage our parishes to respond with generosity to immigrants especially those have been detained and separated from their children and loved ones. And we commit ourselves as Catholic leaders to continue to work and pray for the comprehensive reform of the immigration laws that will keep families united and allow all immigrants to know their dignity as children of God. May our Church always be a sanctuary where no one is a stranger!
Asheville Vicariate Council
Very Rev. Wilbur N. Thomas, Vicar Forane, Rector/Pastor
Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
Rev. C. Morris Boyd, Parochial Vicar
Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville
Rev. Patrick Cahill, Pastor
St. Eugene Church, Asheville
Mr. Juan Antonio Garcia, Coordinator
Asheville Vicariate Hispanic Ministry
Mr. Nicholas Haskell, Coordinator
Poverty & Justice Education, Diocese of Charlotte
Rev. Douglas May, Maryknoll Missioner
In-Residence, St. Eugene Church, Asheville
Rev. Shawn O’Neal, Pastor
Sacred Heart Church, Brevard
Rev. John Pagel, Priest-at-Large to Hispanic Community
Hendersonville
Rev. Roberto Perez, O.F.M. Cap., Parochial Vicar
Immaculate Conception, Hendersonville
Mr. Robert Phillips, Representative, Catholic Charities-Western Office
Diocese of Charlotte, Asheville
Rev. Adrian Porras, Pastor
St. Barnabas Church, Arden
Rev. Martin Schratz, O.F.M. Cap., Pastor
Immaculate Conception, Hendersonville
Sr. Peggy Verstege, R.S.M., Hispanic Ministry
Sacred Heart Church, Burnsville
Sr. Maria Goretti Weldon, R.S.M., Director of Mission and Values
Sisters of Mercy Services Corporation, Asheville
Rev. Fred Werth, Pastor
St. Andrew Church, Mars Hill
Rev. Dr. Michael Zboyovski, Deacon
St. Eugene Church, Asheville
Ya No Somos Extranjeros:
Declaración Pastoral del Consejo del Vicariato de Asheville de la Diócesis de Charlotte, 2017
En nuestra primera declaración hace once años, ACOGIENDO AL FORASTERO ENTRE NOSOTROS, invitamos a nuestra comunidad Católica a dar la bienvenida a los nuevos inmigrantes de Asheville. En aquella época estábamos respondiendo a un pánico universal de la comunidad inmigrante en lo cual muchos estaban detenidos y deportados. Al mismo tiempo, nos juntamos con los obispos católicos de nuestro país llamando por una reforma completa del sistema quebrantado de inmigración. En los once años después, nuestra comunidad católica generosamente acogió a los nuevos hermanos y hermanas. Hoy en día, los inmigrantes ya no son extranjeros, pero forman una parte esencial de nuestras comunidades de fe. Desafortunadamente, el sistema quebrantado de inmigración de once años atrás ya casi colapsó. Ahora, la situación de los inmigrantes está mucho peor.
Nuestros hermanas y hermanos inmigrantes nos pidieron a responder una vez más al pánico en lo cual viven ellos y sus hijos. No saben cuando sus familias van a ser destrozados. Los niños, muchos que son ciudadanos viven en el miedo que sus padres van a regresar a casa después del trabajo. Los padres están preocupados que sus hijos, que tiene protección por medio del programa de DACA (Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia), van a ser separados permanentemente de sus familias y deportados. La amenaza contra familias es real. El miedo es intolerable. Después de once años de intentos fracasados de reformar nuestras leyes de inmigración, familias y sus hijos sigen viviendo en miedo.
Nuestros hermanas y hermanos inmigrantes están pasando esta situación aquí y ahora. Ellos son nuestros filigreses y nos han compartido sus valiosas tradiciones de fe y familia. Hacen una contribución positiva a la vida de la Iglesia, la comunidad y la economía. Respondiendo a la Orden Ejecutiva de enero de 2017, el presidente y el vice-presidente de la conferencia nacional de obispos católicos declararon:
El Señor Jesús huyó de la tiranía de Herodes, fue falsamente acusado y luego abandonado por sus amigos. No tenía dónde reclinar su cabeza (Lc 9:58). Acoger al extranjero y a los que están huyendo no es una opción entre muchas en la vida cristiana. Es la forma misma del cristianismo en sí. Nuestras acciones deben hacer que la gente recuerde a Jesús. Las acciones de nuestro gobierno deben hacer que la gente recuerde la humanidad básica. Cuando nuestros hermanos y hermanas sufran rechazo y abandono, nosotros elevaremos nuestra voz en su favor. Los acogeremos y los recibiremos. Ellos son Jesús, y la Iglesia no se apartará de Él . . . . Nuestro deseo no es entrar en el terreno político, sino anunciar a Cristo vivo en el mundo de hoy. En el momento mismo en que una familia abandona su hogar bajo amenaza de muerte, Jesús está presente. Y Él nos dice a cada uno de nosotros: “todo lo que hicieron por uno de estos mis hermanos más pequeños, lo hicieron por mí” (Mt 25:40).
Y como el Papa Francisco siempre dice a la Iglesia, “en el rostro de cada persona está impreso el rostro de Cristo.” Y el papa añade:
Emigrantes y refugiados no son peones sobre el tablero de la humanidad.
(Mensaje Para La Jornada Mundial Del Emigrante Y Del Refugiado 2014)
Através de los siglos, la gente ha visto a la Iglesia como santuario donde busquen ayuda y protección en tiempos difíciles. Pues, como los inmigrantes de hoy nos piden apoyo espiritual en estos tiempos difíciles para sus familias, estamos unidos en llamando a nuestra comunidad católica y a todo el pueblo de buena voluntad a mantenerse a lado de los inmigrantes y sus hijos. Invitamos a Catholic Charities y las escuelas católicas de nuestra área y los programas de catequesis a tener en cuenta las necesidades de los niños que viven en el miedo. Al mismo tiempo, animamos a nuestras parroquias a responder con generosidad a los inmigrantes especialmente a los que han sido detenidos y separados de sus niños y seres queridos. Y nos comprometemos a luchar y rezar por la reforma completa de las leyes de inmigración para mantener familias unidas y permitir que todos los inmigrantes realicen su dignidad como Hijos de Dios. ¡Qué nuestra Iglesia sea siempre un santuario en donde nadie es extranjero!
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Criticized for Failing to Properly Study Pipeline Impacts
Experts submit reports; more than 10,000 signatures from citizens delivered
MONTEREY, Va. – A group of thirteen expert scientists and engineers submitted reports to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on August 22, finding that the DEQ has failed in its duty to properly analyze and protect against the water quality damages the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) would cause to Virginia’s waters.
If approved, the two 42-inch pipelines will traverse through hundreds of miles of Virginia. The ACP would originate in northern West Virginia before ending roughly 600 miles later in southeastern North Carolina. The MVP would also originate in northern West Virginia, traverse hundreds of miles through that state before crossing into Virginia, will it will terminate. The adverse impact upon public health and the environment by the construction and operation of the pipelines has led the tens of thousands of groups and individuals across the Commonwealth and beyond to oppose their construction.
In the reports, one issued for each of the pipelines, the authors wrote that they had reviewed the information DEQ claimed to rely upon in its draft Water Quality Certifications (WQCs) and made their own independent assessments. The experts’ conclusion in each case:
DEQ’s draft WQC, which asserts that there is a “reasonable assurance” that Water Quality Standards (WQS) will be met with the conditions contained in that draft, cannot be supported by the evidence in the record and pertinent scientific authorities and knowledge. Such a finding in the Department’s recommendation to the State Water Control Board (SWCB) would be professionally incompetent and would fail to meet minimum standards of scientific proof.
The authors of the expert report have a vast depth of experience and training (nearly 400 years in professional and academic posts overall) in the entire range of scientific and technical fields pertinent to DEQ’s decisions on the pipelines. They include the incoming president of the American Fisheries Society, a member of the Virginia Cave Board, and former senior engineers and scientists at the Virginia DEQ, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Maryland Department of the Environment. The group includes licensed professional engineers and geologists, professors from Virginia Tech and Washington and Lee University, authors of hundreds of peer-reviewed academic papers, and those who’ve served as expert witnesses in court for DEQ and other state and federal agencies. A complete list of the authors is included below.
“The authors of this report used strong language in our criticism of the proposed findings DEQ has made in its draft Certifications for the pipelines, because we are frankly dismayed to see an agency that’s supposed to base regulatory decisions on science and law ignore the facts and betray the public,” said David Sligh, Conservation Director of Wild Virginia and a Regulatory Systems Investigator for the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition (DPMC). The two groups included the expert reports as part of extensive submittals to DEQ during the comment periods that ended yesterday.
Rick Webb, DPMC’s Coordinator said, “We are not criticizing the dedicated technical employees at DEQ and the other state agencies who’ve studied the potential impacts from the hugely-disruptive projects. In fact, we cited the recommendations agency staff made in previous comments in which they explained why much more data and analyses were needed before protection of state waters could be assured, as the law requires; that permanent damages to our waterbodies could result and residents’ wells and springs ruined without additional information and protective measures.”
“What we are criticizing is the McAuliffe administration’s regulatory proposals, which ignore the concerns and devalue the expertise of their own technical staff,” stated Sligh. “DEQ must not proceed with flawed and scientifically-unsupported recommendations to the State Water Control Board to approve Certifications for either project. If Director Paylor, Secretary of Natural Resources Ward, and the Governor mandate such an approach, then the members of the Water Control Board must play their roles as protectors of the public and reject those recommendations.”
The reports’ authors include: Dr. Paul L. Angermeier, Ralph Bolgiano, Malcolm CameronHE, David Collins, P.E., Ari Daniels, Dr. Pam Dodds, P.G., Dr. David Harbor, Robert K. Johnson, Rick Lambert, William Limpert, Dr. Brian Murphy, David Sligh and Rick Webb. For more information, including access to the complete expert report on the ACP and additional DPMC reports on the draft 401 Water Quality Certification, visit the DPMC website.
10,000 Comments Delivered to DEQ by Environmental Groups
Also on Tuesday, experts, landowners, and environmental groups from across the Commonwealth gathered at DEQ headquarters in Richmond to deliver thousands of public comments related to DEQ’s 401 water certification process.
The comments, collected by the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Appalachian Voices, Bold Alliance, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, and Oil Change International urged the DEQ to do more in order to meet the agency’s obligations to protect Virginia’s water sources from natural gas pipeline construction and operations.
“DEQ’s draft Certification is legally and scientifically indefensible,” David Sligh, former Senior Engineer at Virginia’s DEQ, said. “The processes DEQ has conducted have been unfair and inadequate to satisfy the Governor’s promises of thorough and transparent regulatory reviews. The State Water Control Board cannot certify these projects unless it can assure that all state water quality standards will be met. A rigorous scientific analysis would prove such a conclusion is impossible.”
The public comments urge Governor McAuliffe and DEQ Director David Paylor to direct the DEQ to extend the public comment period for these projects and to conduct site-specific reviews and permits for each waterway crossed by both of these pipelines. The DEQ has originally announced to the public that it would undergo site-specific reviews for these pipelines in April, but announced in June that they that the agency would instead opt to rely on the Army Corps of Engineers’ blanket permitting process.
“The Corps’ process is woefully inadequate to protect our water,” Bill Limpert, a property owner in Bath County whose property would be traversed by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, said. “We looked at the Corps’ map of our property and we have two streams that are not even present on that map. How are they supposed to protect our waterways if they don’t even know where they are?”
Courtesy submissions
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Incompetence and Complacency Increase Dangers from Fracking
Industrial Hemp Offers Hope to Appalachia’s Farmers and Environment
Jim Justice Mining Operation Endangers Public Health and Ecology, Says Scientific Center
Jury in Pennsylvania Fracking Case Sees Clear Value in Lives and Property
Lewis County Resident Issues a Plea: Wake up West Virginia
Monongah Tragedy Still Looms Large
Mountain Party of West Virginia Offers Response to Governor’s ‘State of the State’ Address
Mountaintop Removal Semantics Debate Gives Ammunition to Energy Industry
Natural Gas Industry Moves from the Absurd to the Profane
Natural Gas Pipelines, the Drumbeats of War and Our Sense of Entitlement
OVEC Publishes Newspaper to Reach 29,000 West Virginians
Pipeline Proposal Raises Questions that Beg for Answers
Pipeline Monitoring Group: FERC Not Doing Job on ACP
Poor Emergency Planning in West Virginia Puts Citizens at Risk
Pope Francis Addressing the Root Cause of Climate Chaos
Pope Francis Gives Hope to Appalachia’s People
Proposed ‘New” Route for Atlantic Coast Pipeline no Better than One Rejected, Say Opponents
Provisions of W.Va. Storage Tank Law Undermine its Stated Intent
Putting Liberation Theology to Practice in Appalachia
Recent Coal Mining Deaths are Acts of Greed, Not ‘Acts of God’
Seeking Dominion over His Own Land
Unity the Theme at ‘Preserving Sacred Appalachia’ Conference
Victim in Fracking Truck Accident had Warned Commissioners of Roadway Dangers
Virginia Officials Agree to Demands from Advocacy Group about Pipeline Deliberations
West Virginia: The Rodney Dangerfield of the USA
West Virginia Catholic Diocese Challenged to Reject Coal’s ‘Dirty Money’
West Virginia Church Earns Award for Solar Energy Use
West Virginia Couple Models Renewable Energy
West Virginia Pipeline Project Cited for Numerous Violations
West Virginia Residents in Heart of Fracking Field Join in National Action
West Virginia Workers under Attack in Charleston
West Virginians and Pennsylvanians Standing in Solidarity Against Natural Gas Industry
West Virginia’s History Rooted in Conflict
West Virginia’s Top Story in 2015: People and Land under Assault
A Haiku for ‘Abby Normal’s’ New Life Season
Abigail Taylor
Always curious and sweet
Be blessed and blessing
For my dear friend, partner and misfit (every curmudgeon needs one as a foil). – MMB
© The Lenoir Voice, 2017. Photo by Mayur Gala on Unsplash.
Alpha Natural Resources Ordered to Justify Mountaintop Removal Mine Permit
Mining site on Coal River Mountain has pattern of violations
Courtesy submission
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) ordered Alpha Natural Resources subsidiary Republic Energy to show cause why a mountaintop removal coal mine permit on Coal River Mountain in Raleigh County should not be suspended or revoked. The order was issued on Aug. 1. Republic has 30 days to request a hearing or a consent order; otherwise, the permit will be suspended or revoked or its bond forfeited.
Republic has received seven notices of violation at its 802-acre Middle Ridge permit since July 25, 2016. Three or more of the same type of violation within a year demonstrate a pattern of violations and initiate the “show cause” procedure.
Alpha’s Middle Ridge site above the McDowell Branch neighborhood, Clear Creek, W.Va
Alpha subsidiaries operate over ten square miles of active, approved or pending mountaintop removal sites and coal waste slurry impoundments on Coal River Mountain. Local citizens group Coal River Mountain Watch has opposed the operations because of the documented public health impacts of mountaintop removal, including significantly elevated rates of cancer, heart disease, birth defects and other deadly illnesses. Mountaintop removal also causes long-term pollution of mountain streams and the loss of access to the mountain for traditional activities including hiking, hunting, and gathering ginseng, berries, mushrooms, ramps and other forest resources. Increased runoff from the deforested sites and altered topography can also contribute to flooding.
A blast above the McDowell Branch neighborhood, Clear Creek, W.Va. Photo credit: Coal River Mountain Watch
Four of the seven notices of violation on Republic’s Middle Ridge permit were for sediment control violations related to improperly constructed ditches and sediment ditch failure. Citizen complaints generated two of the sediment control citations.
“This isn’t rocket science. It’s a ditch. If Alpha can’t even properly maintain a ditch, why should we expect them to comply with any of the other regulations and permit conditions meant to protect water quality and nearby residents and property owners,” asked Vernon Haltom, executive director of Coal River Mountain Watch.
Local residents with Coal River Mountain Watch plan to continue pushing for the permanent revocation of the Middle Ridge permit, protection for Coal River Mountain and surrounding communities, and a strong, sustainable economy for southern West Virginia.
“The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection needs to start living up to their name and their mission of promoting a healthy environment in West Virginia,” Haltom said. “Instead, they continue to grant mountaintop removal permits knowing full well that these operations will cause long-term water pollution, serious harm to the health of people in our communities, and damage to the long-term viability of our economy.”
Coal River Mountain Watch of Naoma, W.Va., has a mission to stop the destruction of our communities and environment by mountaintop removal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities. The website ishttp://crmw.net.
More information
Show cause order: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B87Y5QG4Eg0Xa211WUJEV2YxRWc
Middle Ridge violations: https://apps.dep.wv.gov/WebApp/_dep/search/Permits/ViolationsDetailsQuery.cfm?permit_id=S301712&dep_office_id=OMR
Republic Energy permits on Coal River Mountain: https://apps.dep.wv.gov/WebApp/_dep/search/Permits/RP_PermitQuery_new.cfm?office=OMR
U.N. Resolution Needs Time to Work
Trump’s threat of ‘fire and fury’ against North Korea undermines Nikki Haley’s incredible diplomacy – and the Constitution
By Michael M. Barrick
Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, did what none of her 28 predecessors were able to do – get a unanimous vote of the U.N. Security Council. The 15-0 vote, in short, is intended to deny North Korea of roughly $1 billion in revenue annually in hopes it will bankrupt the nation’s nuclear program. It also sends an unprecedented unanimous message to the North Korean leadership.
Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the U.N.
Ms. Haley hit a diplomatic grand slam. Naturally, President Trump immediately undermined her work, threatening “fire and fury” against North Korea. That’s war, not diplomacy. And, it’s amateurish, as noted by Senator John McCain (R- Ariz.). He told the Associated Press, “You got to be sure you can do what you say you’re going to do. That kind of rhetoric, I’m not sure it helps. The great leaders I’ve seen don’t threaten unless they’re ready to act and I’m not sure that President Trump is ready to act.”
So, we’ve just leap-frogged over a moment to achieve peace to almost certain war.
It is not unreasonable for there to be skeptics as to whether or not nations voting for the resolution will actually abide by it. Nevertheless, it is inconsistent with the values of the United States to initiate war. In fact, one would think that recent history would have taught us that.
I’ve got a stack of books about the Korean War sitting on my bookshelf. I offer them to the White House. Chief of Staff General John Kelly can sit the president’s butt in a chair and read to him just a few select passages of the madness that a war on that peninsula would unleash. It would be an apocalyptic example of man’s inhumanity to man.
I’ve even got the word-for-word account of my uncle’s death there on 12 July 1950. It makes for sobering reading. I’ll also be happy to provide a copy of my grandmother’s letter to President Truman, a letter saturated with anguish that only a mother can feel.
Speaking of reading, somebody needs to read the president a copy of the Constitution. The same thing is true in Congress. When President Harry Truman sent troops into Korea in 1950, he started our 67-year history of unconstitutional wars. A journalist called it a “police action” and the president claimed it as his own. Those books I mentioned have a lot of colorful quotes from soldiers that actually participated in that “police action.”
If reading just isn’t an option, then show the president episodes of “M*A*S*H.”
It’s time for that executive abuse of power to stop. Indeed, the lesson here is that while the U.N. resolution is impressive, it is not legal cover for war. Only Congress can authorize war. I can think of no more appropriate time in our nation’s history than now for Congress to re-assert its rightful authority. At least men like my uncle will not then have died in vain.
Today, the media is just as irresponsible, talking and writing about a “conflict.” No, it’s a war, and it is very, very ugly. So, it’s time for everyone to do their job, especially Congress. It seems only it can check the White House. It must send a clear signal to the president – if you do not come to the House chamber for a Joint Session of Congress with a Declaration of War that will be debated live for every American to see, there will be not one cent made available for war. There will be no such declaration. And, Articles of Impeachment will be introduced the second you should initiate an unconstitutional war.
We can hope.
© Michael M. Barrick, 2017
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Solving the North Korea Problem
No Nukes for anyone
By Michael M. Barrick
In the early 1980s, I had a t-shirt that exclaimed, “No Nukes!” It caused more than one confrontation, which of course was my intent. The reason I was so confrontational was because I considered escalation of nuclear weaponry insane. President Reagan, in particular, seemed to be a bit trigger-happy.
He was not the first though. I have known since I had to throw by butt under my desk or up against a wall at school in 1962 that nuclear weapons could make all of mankind extinct. As a first grader, I was not old enough to grasp the “All of mankind” concept; however, television and magazine images of exploding mushroom clouds I did understand – it meant I would be vaporized – extinguished!
My awareness of all of this began with the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was enlightening to a six-year-old. The president was serious, our parents more so with each passing day. The nuns at St. Mary’s in Clarksburg, W.Va. were the ones having us diving under the desks. We followed that by saying the rosary and going to confession quite regularly. At six, I was a handful, but I really didn’t have much to confess. In hindsight, I’d like to say, “Thanks for messing with my head.”
Speaking of which, during the time I was wearing my “No Nukes!” t-shirt, President Reagan mused about eliminating nuclear weapons from the planet. In a Time magazine interview in 1984, he revealed, “I just happen to believe that we cannot go into another generation with the world living under the threat of those weapons and knowing that some madman can push the button some place.” He added, “My hope has been, and my dream, that we can get the Soviet Union to join us in starting verifiable reductions of the weapons. Once you start down that road, they’ve got to see how much better off we would both be if we got rid of them entirely.”
That interview occurred the same year our second child was born. We are now grandparents of an eight-year-old. She is the second generation since that interview to live with the ongoing threat of nuclear annihilation. This lack of leadership simply won’t do. And, before we can lead, we have to get over our sense of moral superiority – which is clearly the reason we think we should have nuclear weapons and have the right to tell others they cannot. The United States would never submit to such dictates from a foreign power (OK, there is that Trump/Russia “thing,” but let’s just let it play out for now).
Additionally, from the perspective of those who don’t live between the shores of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the borders with Canada and Mexico, the United States is, at best, hypocritical to demand that other nations not develop nuclear weapons programs. That is true even when we are dealing with a nation that threatens us almost daily, as does North Korea. After all, we are the only nation to ever use them in war – twice.
Put frankly, the United States lacks the moral authority to demand that any nation adhere to our wishes – about nuclear weapons or anything.
So now, we find ourselves in a helpless diplomatic situation with North Korea. We can’t bend them to our will. If we choose war to do so, we will witness human, cultural and environmental destruction that few of us alive today have ever seen our nation engaged in.
So, what to do? Resurrect the vision of Ronald Reagan – and much of humanity since the end of World War II: A nuclear weapons-free world. Does such a vision seem impossible? Yes – until you consider the alternative. All weapons of war are always used. As I’ve written before, waging peace is much more difficult than waging war. It requires more patience, creative thinking, and a humble spirit. Humility is not exactly our nation’s strongest attribute. It is even less so under Donald Trump. So, the Anti-Nuke movement must re-originate from our neighborhoods and our towns.
The peace sign was first used in 1958 by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
As a child, in fact, I was taught that peace was to begin with me – a lesson I learned at home, my Catholic parish and Catholic school. Indeed, David Haas, a singer-songwriter that has written hundreds of songs that are used in Mass of Catholic parishes in the United States and beyond, challenges nations to wage peace in his song, “Enter God’s House.” The lyrics begin, “All you nations, all who seek peace: / leave your arms and weapons behind. / Come and climb the mountain of God. / Enter God’s house!”
The United States must heed this call for two reasons. First, as the only nation to use atomic / nuclear weapons, our nation is obligated to lead the effort to eliminate them. Secondly, this nation is run by a political party that claims to be the party of God. Of course, that’s cowpatties, but they certainly have a chance to prove it.
All they – and many hawkish Democrats, too – have to remember is: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:19).
© Michael M. Barrick, 2017. Photo by Eddie Kopp on Unsplash
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