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When a superior ordered the lab to follow the directive, Eason decided to retire rather than pay tribute to Helms. After several hours’ delay, one of Eason’s employees hung the flags at half-staff. The brouhaha began late Sunday night, when Eason e-mailed eight of his employees in the state standards lab, which calibrates measuring equipment used on things as widely varied as gasoline and hamburgers. “Regardless of any executive proclamation, I do not want the flags at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory flown at half staff to honor Jesse Helms any time this week,” Eason wrote just after midnight, according to e-mail messages released in response to a public records request.
He told his staff that he did not think it was appropriate to honor Helms because of his “doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice” and his opposition to civil rights bills and the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. In a string of e-mail messages with his superiors, Eason was told he could either lower the flags or retire effective immediately.Though he’s only 51, Eason chose to retire, although he pleaded several times to be allowed to stay at the lab. Eason, who had worked for the Agriculture Department since graduating from college, was paid $65,235 a year as the laboratory manager. “I designed and built that lab,” he said. “Even though technically the bricks and mortar belong to the state of North Carolina, I feel very strongly that everything that comes out of there is my responsibility.” Monday was sunny. And Eason was out of a job.
A small gesture for sure, but the man has guts.
#15 for the win
#15 cannot be a win. There is no proof, just an allegation with no facts to back it up. Win my ass.
#33 _ I think this is his 1st resignation from that job. Ergo…
Helms was a racist, no doubt about it. I don’t know enough about the man to know much about his deeds or stances outside of that.
Still, failing to raise a flag ain’t exactly the Boston Tea Party on the bravery scale.
And it’s not like the guy quit or made any sacrifices, no doubt he had planned to retire.
They should give Eason’s job to a black man.
After voting present or skipping votes on so many important issues, Obama voted in favor of the resolution honoring Jesse Helms, and in fact cosponsored it. Wouldn’t it be great if Obama flip-flopped on affirmative action?
If all Jesse stood for was racism, how did we have a candidate run on the platform, ‘The New Jesse Helms, this time he’s black’
Did you notice that Jesse Helms who ate lots and lots of mayonnaise died before his nemesis Fidel Castro, who probably eats very little mayo, judging from his thin and pale physique?
IS THERE NO JUSTICE IN THE WORLD?
>”Wouldn’t it be great if Obama flip-flopped”
Obama is a reverse trojan candidate.
I love the man and have enjoyed watching him move right on issue after issue.
No one seemed to notice that when he started his campaign that his positions were all to the right of Hillary.
He’s far more centrist than any candidate in a very long time.
Helms had an absolutely noxious voting record, but I’d still lower the flag for him.
Helms was annoying.
I’m glad to see him gone.
Eason is an idiot. He should forfeit his pension and everything he was paid this year also.
> And, he was elected in free and fair elections.
So was Hitler, so was Ian Paisley, so was Governor Wallace, so were many other tuppeny ha’penny bigots, racists and nasty supremacists. Face it, Helms was an international embarrassment to the US.
I salute the man who refused to lower the flag. He is a man of principle.
Part of our culture is that we honor a public servant after their death. That honor does not mean we agree with his views, start worshipping his memory, or weep copiously, but it does include lowering flags.
#45–Fusion==Its only part of our culture in the sense that self promoting politicians give airs and graces to themselves to hide the fact they are masquerading scum out to benefit only themselves all to the general harm of the USA. There is no “we” about it. Very sheep like to post you think this is anything other than oppression. Sure, its low level–not as bad as pictures of the great leader in every home, but pretty much the same thing.
Politicians/thieves honoring themselves and you want to buy into it. Why?
Good point bobbo. Nowadays they are even naming buildings after themselves. The worst are Arlen Specter and appropriately for this thread, Robert Byrd.
So lets see, he hires the black man who needed federal troops to attend the Univ of Mississippi. Before he was even in office, he praises the first black man to attend the Univ of Charlotte. However, he just gets tagged as a racist, and even had to run against the guy he praised. That’s OK, he never catered to the whims of a media elite.
I have a lot of respect for anyone who does not vote themselves a raise.
When the senators met to vote themselves a raise Jesse Helms was one of maybe two that did not vote for the raise.
#49–Mrs B==”a lot of respect” huh? The cretin was in office forever. Do you know anything else of his record?
Politics is a game that fleeces sheep. Anyone intelligent enough to post on a blog should be ashamed they have been taken in. Good Values Voters?
Whether you are rich or poor, if you make it to Congress, you are a multi-millionaire at the end of your first term as Senator, and your second as a Rep. Now, what do you think accounts for that?
Helms was one of two that did not vote for the raise?===meaning he got it anyway? Did he return the money? Jeeze==what a complete fool you are.
Here’s Jesse in action:
http://www.bookrags.com/highbeam/probe-of-helms-net-worth-asked-hb/
I DEMAND AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!
#50 “I DEMAND AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!”
Do you mean you want to leave the one you’re in and move in to the one everyone else lives in?
#51–Paddy==just the opposite. I’d like to live in a world of “like minded people.” People not so gullible that they vote their own oppressors into office and then feel they should honor the self seeking scum when they finally get their due.
I see no hope for the USA/world when so many people are so easily manipulated by such transparent stupidity.
Its distressing!!!
#52 – Bobito
>>I’d like to live in a world of “like minded people”.
Yeah. None a them Spanish-speakin’ bastards, right?
#53
Castellano is much better than the Spanish spoken round these parts.
#54 – Patrick
Yeth, if you like the thound of thomeone thpeaking with a lithp.
#55 I know. The 1st time I heard s/o there pronounce “Plaza Mayor” I did a double take.
Is it true that a king had a lisp and it propagated that way? This pronunciation is only prevalent near Madrid.
Helms get his job through horrible, vial opinions and slanderous innuendo and possibly a bit of money put in the right or wrong hands (his or someone elses), in my opinion. Never salute the position – salute if the position was carried out with honor and morality. His wasn’t. This man did the right thing. Period. And it cost him. We need more people like him in all positions of government. There use to be a lot because government jobs paid well with good benefits but weren’t given out to just any schmuck who had connections. Too bad Helms and his ilk have changed this so that so many good people don’t want to go into it now.
By the way, Bush doesn’t deserve any salutes either, only prosecution in the world court and jail, if found guilty of crimes against humanity.
Helms was a prejudice, bad person who tried to make sure his prejudice was reflected throughout society. RIP Jesse Helms because you were one poor, tortured soul in real life.
#46, bobbo,
What ever the fuck are you babbling about?
Traditions and culture do NOT need be reasonable or even healthy. But, like it or not, that is the way we live. Whether it is sex discrimination in public washrooms, age of consent for sex. or how what clothing you must wear, it is all part of our culture. Go ahead, pick one. Dress as a woman and see if you haven’t broken a cultural norm. Try out the woman toilet and see if there isn’t a complaint.
Even when a person dies, we grieve. Not always for the person, but at least for the family. Now a great many people don’t approve of Helm’s policies. I don’t. During his wake, however, I will put those feelings aside and recognize that he represented his constituents as they wanted to be represented.
That is part of our culture. You don’t have to. And that is also part of our culture.
#58–Mr Fusion==I’m talking about exactly what I posted. In this particular sense, that “culture” is of the people, the society===not imposed on them from a select few who have the power to command obedience, as in, our government.
When a shithead like Helms dies, is the first thing you think of “Lets lower our flag”–or moreso, lets go piss on his grave?
The former is required totalitarian enforced behavior from the outside and is required, the latter is the culture of any sane rational person that care about his society and it is outlawed.
So, I ask again: why do you buy into it?
#56 – That seems to be the rumor, or so I was taught in high school.
The lisp is prevalent in other parts of Spain, including as far northeast as Barcelona (aka, “Barthelona”).
#60, #56
If a lithp is the reathon for the pronunthiation, I wonder why it’th only applied to c’s and z’s?
You never hear anyone talking about “Thanta Maria” or “thaltha” music or “Crithtobal Colon”.