Champion of the Month!

Every month in this blog I am going to crown a champion; a person who has made a positive difference in this world. And this month it's an easy call for me: Kaci Hickox.

Instead of sitting at home fretting and wringing her hands over Ebola, she went onto the front lines to fight the disease in Sierra Leone. If we are going to defeat  Ebola, we aren't going to do it here in the U.S. just worrying about it and saying "Oh, dear! Oh dear!" We have to confront the disease where it is truly a problem. Kaci has done that. It was a brave and noble act.

Since returning home Kaci has been fighting a different type of battle, one against fear and ignorance. A fight against grand standing politicians trying to scare you into voting for them. A fight against those who would ignore science and try to make us think we're living in Europe in the 1350s and we're battling the Black Plague.

If I were in Main I would go visit Kaci and give her a big kiss. Instead I will settle for figuratively raising her hand in victory.

Kaci Hickox! Kayo Nelson's Champion of October 2014!

I want to address Ebola mania today. Or to quote the Bard: Much ado about nothing.

Now don't misunderstand Charley Nelson (that's me). In West Africa Ebola is a very serious problem. Our worries and our prayers should certainly be for the many people living there infected and at risk. But as a problem in the USA, Ebola is virtually non-existent. You wouldn't know that by listening to some of our politicians and members of the media, however. You'd think we were living in Europe in the 1350s fighting off the Black Plague.
 

A few stats here. And a bit of common sense. So far we've had four cases of Ebola in the U.S. and one death. That is hardly a plague. Compare that to around 10,000 deaths a year from drunk driving and around 30,000 deaths a year because of the flu. No one has suggested yet (have they?) that we ought to start quarantining people who neglected to get a flu shot this year. Yet you are more at risk from these people than anyone in the U.S. with Ebola.
 

"But Charley," people say to me, "it got out of control in Africa so it could get out of control here!" Well, no, actually. It couldn't. Ebola is not an airborne virus. It is passed through bodily fluids. In third world areas where sanitation is not great and medical facilities aren't modernized, the disease can become a serious problem. That isn't going to happen here.

 

Yet some politicians are playing this for all it's worth! "Oh my God! Obama has let the disease get completely out of control." Oh, yeah. Four cases and one death. Run for the hills. I for one would much rather see Obama and congress work on ways to cut down on drunk driving deaths instead of fretting away over a non-existent plague.
 

Oh, and Governor Christie? Instead of playing doctor with a disease you obviously know very little about, why don't you go back to doing something your are good at? Like causing traffic jams.  

I am writing this blog mostly for fellow residents of Wisconsin, although you folks living elsewhere are certainly welcome to read. (Even you Minnesotans!)

In recent years the company I work for, instead of hiring enough workers for whatever reason, has become increasingly more dependent on overtime. This summer I didn't have a lot of two day weekends; instead I frequently had to work Saturdays. Worse yet, we often weren't told we were working Saturday for certain until late on Friday. So even if we did get one of those rare Saturdays off we really couldn't make plans for the weekend anyway.

Enough people have left the company or have threatened to leave that the OT, for now, has come to an end. But this is, I'm afraid, a company addicted to the OT. And like any addict they try to get away from it for awhile, but eventually go back into their old habits. I'm working a 40 hour week again right now, but I bet it will only be a couple months or so until we're back to the 54 or 56 hour weeks.

It wasn't long ago in our country that people were fighting and dying for worker's rights, including a 40 hour work week. It is certainly not a coincidence that as labor unions have lost their size and power workers have steadily lost their rights. Just look at the growing pay gap between the average workers and the top executives at most companies.

Unfortunately, the attitude I see from many of my fellow workers is "Oh well, nothing we can do about it." Or they even take a "blame your fellow workers" attitude. You know, instead of getting mad at management, blaming your fellow workers for all the OT. ("Hey if you guys would work a little harder...!" Yeah, trust me, upper management absolutely LOVES to hear you blaming each other instead of blaming them.)

Workers, wake up! It is way past time to start fighting back!

Enough workers at my place of business protested and we got (for now) an end to the endless OT. Maybe it will come back, but then we'll have to fight back again. It can be done! No more of this "Oh, poor us, nothing can be done" attitude!

A very good place to place to start pushing back is at the polls. Fellow Wisconsinites, let's start by getting rid of Scott Walker, the most unworker-friendly governor currently in office! It's a close race! You can make a difference!

Charley Nelson (that's me!) is going to write one more blog about the situation in Sayreville. Not that Sayreville in and of itself is that important of a story. No, what's important is what the situation says about our society and the over-emphasis ("over the top" one might say) we place on school sports.

I had a couple e-mails after my last blog saying, essentially, you can't really blame the coach. He didn't know what was going on. That's the point, people. He should have known what was going on. That's the law as a matter of fact. If a teacher fails to recognize that a pupil of theirs is being abused, that teacher can be held accountable for it.

I think the most damning thing one can say about George Najjar in this situation is that not one member of his team, not one victim, not one witness, not one ANYBODY, felt that they could go to him and tell him what was going on. NOT ONE!

Why not?

Do the right thing, Najjar. Resign. Commitment and Character.

    

Allow me to say a little more about the situation in Sayreville. (See my previous blog for more.)  I am rather amazed that head football coach George Najjar still has a job. I'm not saying I'm amazed he hasn't been fired yet. After all, there is a process to be followed. Rather what I'm amazed at is that he hasn't resigned.

Until a couple weeks ago, Najjar was a very respected man in Sayreville. He compiled one heck of a record as head coach, 162-48, and turned the team into a true powerhouse, winning titles and championships and all.  But you know what? If he's responsible for the good things that have happened with this team, then he's responsible for the bad things as well.

And that's the thing. Ultimately it's the man in charge who must take responsibility. And Najjar has not yet done so.

George, you're not surviving this. There is no way in hell you will coach another football game for Sayreville. You must know that. If you want to teach these kids one last life lesson, why not teach them to take responsibility instead of pointing fingers in other directions?

Resign. The sooner the better. 

So a lot of you are wondering what Charlie Nelson has to say about the Sayreville football scandal. At least, maybe one or two of you are wondering. If you don't know what scandal I'm talking about, do a news search for Sayreville and you will find all the sordid details. I won't rehash it here.

Charley Nelson (that's me) is remembering many years back when he moved to a small, Midwestern town with a population a bit less than 1000. At that time the biggest source of pride for this town was their girls high school basketball team. They were one of the top teams in the state, eventually winning a state title one year.

The first time I went to one of the games I went a bit early to catch the junior varsity game as well. And I could not believe what I saw. Or actually, I could not believe what I heard. A barrage of obscenities from the fans rained down upon these girls every time one of them made a mistake. "Get your head out of your f------ ass!" was one of the kinder phrases. Some of these girls facing this abuse were as young as 13 years old!

After the game I talked to a few people, voicing my concern about such behavior. One woman told me "Charley, the language is rough, but remember: These girls will be our varsity team in a couple years!"

Now, you're wondering what in the world this has to do with Sayreville. I will tell you. We as a society have lost our perspective when it comes to school sports.

If you really know Charley Nelson, you know I'm a guy who loves sports. There's nothing better on a Friday night, after a long week of work, than coming home, popping open a couple beers and watching a good game on TV. But all things in moderation. A couple beers; not a couple six packs. And professional sports, not some high school kids. Seriously. Perspective.

When adults think it's okay to yell obscenities at a 13 year old girl because she made a bad pass, something is out of whack in our society. When high school boys think it's just fine to commit sexual assaults because "Hey, I'm a football player and coach will fix it," then something is out of whack in our society. When parents of these kids are more concerned with the lost football games than the sexual assaults, something is out of whack in our society.

Our schools need to return to being schools instead of being minor league sports franchises. Superintendent Richard Labbe, pull the plug on football in Sayreville for good. You'll anger a lot of people, but in the end you'll have better schools.

Just a quick note today to say...

Scott Walker: Worst Governor Ever!

That is all.

Like many of you, Charley Nelson has been following the case where a South Carolina state trooper, Sean Groubert (now an ex-state trooper), shot an unarmed man, Levar Jones, after a traffic stop for a seat belt violation. If you haven't seen the video, I'm not going to post it here, but do a Google or Youtube search for Sean Groubert and you will find it quite easily.

I've heard and read lots of reports and opinions on this incident and most people seem quite baffled as to why Groubert shot Jones. Well, Charley Nelson is going to clear up part of the mystery. Not all of it, but some of it. I believe I know something that everyone else seems to be overlooking.

Charley Nelson (that's me you know) got pulled over one night. It was around 2:00 AM and the reason I was pulled over was bogus. Something like doing 61 in a 55 mph zone. Yeah, right. What was really going on? At that hour of the night, the officer was pulling over people at random to see if they'd been drinking. A brief conversation proved I hadn't been and I was sent on my way with a mild warning. Many or even most of you have had this happen I am sure. You get pulled over with some silly excuse because the cops are looking for something.

Levar Jones had just pulled into a gas station, parked, and was getting out of his vehicle when suddenly Sean Groubert pulled up to confront him. The excuse? A seat belt violation. Now, come on! If you park your car and then get out you have to take off your seat belt! This was an excuse and it could have been used on anyone. Every single person who pulled into that gas station could have been hit with that same charge! "Hey! You just took off your seat belt!"

Groubert saw something that made him very suspicious. What, I don't know. Was it just because Jones was black? Possibly, but I'm sure Groubert saw many, many black people every day and didn't have this response. Maybe Jones matched the description of a fugitive. Maybe Jones' vehicle was similar to one Groubert was on the lookout for. Who knows but Groubert? But he saw Jones and immediately excepted trouble. He used the seat belt as an excuse to confront him. He was on edge, expecting the situation could very easily spiral out of control, so he had his gun at the ready. When Jones made one slight move he didn't like... Bam! Bam! Bam!

Of course Jones was no fugitive. He was no bad guy. He was just an ordinary fellow on his way home from work. A very sad situation and my heart goes out to you, Levar. I hope you are recovering well.

As for Groubert, he's been fired and a jail sentence is a very real possibility. Well, Sean, you made your own bed...